Fake Quote Attributed to Abiy Ahmed
The Claim
In a recorded session just before Ethiopia’s elections, Abiy Ahmed said he would rather die than hand over power.
News posted on
Emerging story
News is circulating on social media, and some news websites claim Ethiopian president Abiy Ahmed said, “I would rather die than hand over power to them.” It is alleged that the source of the claim is leaked audio from a high-level meeting of the ruling party, which was first shared by US-based Kello Media, which focuses on East Africa, mainly Ethiopian news. The first circulation began almost three weeks ago, just ahead of the Ethiopian elections, which started today.
Misbar’s Analysis
MENA: The Misbar investigation found the claim to be fake. Upon investigation, it was found that the office of Prime Minister Abiy refuted claims to the accusation on their official Twitter account. They confirmed that the leaked audio is fake. They urged citizens to be more vigilant about this type of misinformation ahead of the country’s elections.
