Fabricated Quote Attributed to Abiy
The Claim
Quote attributed to Ethiopian President released by Aljazeera in which he says the GERD is the largest dam in the world.
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Emerging story
Posts on social media are circulating an image that shares a quote attributed to Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed. The image reads in Arabic, “Abiy Ahmed: We now loudly declare that we have the largest dam in the world, and whoever wants war, we will go to them before they come to us.” Some users shared the picture with the comment that this man has a dead heart referring to Abiy.
Misbar’s Analysis
Research on Aljazeera’s official sites and Abiy’s official accounts did not return this quote, nor did a reverse image search. Which led the team to conclude this is a fabricated statement. Contrary to the claim, Abiy’s latest announcement on the GERD made on the 18th of April from his official Twitter says, “Ethiopia, in developing Abbay River for its needs, has no intention of causing harm to lower riparian countries. Heavy rains last year enabled successful first filling of the GERD while the presence of the GERD itself has undoubtedly prevented severe flooding in neighboring Sudan.” He added that in reducing the effects of flooding in Sudan, the second filling would only occur during the rainy seasons.
Moreover, the GERD is not the largest dam in the world but Africa. It has a planned capacity of producing 6000 megawatts of electrical energy. The largest dam in the world is the Three Gorges Dam in China which produces 22,500 megawatts.
Given the surrounding context, the Misbar team confirms the claim is fake. Abiy did not make that statement, nor did Aljazeera publish it. It does not appear that Abiy is inciting any wars but instead trying to complete the project with as little impact downstream.
