Local Voices Liberia

09/06/2025

🎧 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 our latest 𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒌 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒘! 📻🔍

We’ve got an exciting lineup designed to help YOU fight back against misinformation and fake news! 💪🧠

🎙 Hosted by Siaway T. Miapue and Dehsaynah Olivia Banwon, this episode is packed with tools, insights, and expert advice to empower YOU against disinformation.

📌 What’s Going Viral – Dehsaynah Olivia Banwon brings you a summary of some of the most talked-about claims we’ve tracked and fact-checked over the past month.

💬 Check Chat – Hear directly from fact-checker Varney Kelvin Sirleaf as he walks us through the verification process behind a misleading video shared by former lawmaker Hon Acarous Moses Gray.

👨‍⚕️ Facts from the Experts – We speak to Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia-NPHIL about the (mpox) outbreak and what you need to know to stay safe.

📚 Fact Check 101 – Ever wondered what makes something fact-checkable? Varney Sirleaf breaks down the difference between a claim and an opinion so you can become a smarter media consumer.

🧐 Facts vs Fiction – Our Editor Daffae Senkpeni wraps things up with tips on spotting misleading narratives and separating truth from lies. He debunks two popular myths about the virus.

🔗 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸 is produced by Local Voices Liberia Fact-Checking Desk, with funding support from the Liberia Media Empowerment program, financed by the European Union in Liberia through Internews in Liberia.

📲 Visit www.localvoicesliberia.com or follow us right here on Facebook for full reports and more updates.

🛑 Don’t fall for fake news – get the facts, check the facts, and share the facts!

06/06/2025

: In this edition of the fact check segment, we verified two claims:

🏥 Claim 1: Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, Director General of National Public Health Institute of Liberia-NPHIL, said Liberia’s Public Health Institute has been listed as a Center of Excellence by the Africa CDC.

✅ Verdict: Correct.

Evidence: A February 2025 press release from the Africa CDC confirmed that NPHIL is among nine institutions across Africa recognized as "Centers of Excellence".

🌍 Claim 2: Aloysius Howe, a former aide to ex-Finance Minister Samuel D Tweah Jr., claimed Liberia “exchanged” the ECOWAS Chairmanship to Nigeria in return for a United Nations Security Council seat.

⚠️ Verdict: Misleading.

Evidence: There is no evidence in the official Ecowas - Cedeao July 2023 communiqué that such an exchange took place. Nigeria’s ECOWAS chairmanship election followed standard rotation, and Liberia’s UN candidacy was independently endorsed by the AU.

This fact-check is part of a media partnership to counter disinformation, supported by Internews in Liberia with funding from the Internews in Liberia.

Listen to the audio to get more details on these two fact-check reports.

📲 Got a viral claim you’d like fact-checked?
📩 WhatsApp us at 0777556296

Follow us on X:| and www.localvoicesliberia.com for more fact checks

06/06/2025

: A critic of the government claims on Facebook that Liberia exchanged the Ecowas - Cedeao Chairmanship in return for a UN Security Council seat in July 2023.

He asserted that Liberia ceded its interest to Nigeria in exchange for the UNSC seat.

We have checked for credible information to verify this assertion, but found no evidence that supports this claim.



Internews in Liberia Liberia Fact-Checking Network Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT) OKFM 99.5 & OKTV OK FM 99.5 Prime FM Monrovia 105.5 KCNTV European Union in Liberia Executive Mansion-Liberia

In Summary: A critic of the government claims on Facebook that Liberia exchanged the ECOWAS Chairmanship in return for a UN Security Council seat in July 2023 He asserted that Liberia ceded its interest to Nigeria in exchange for the UNSC seat We have checked for credible information to verify this....

05/06/2025

: In this edition of the fact check segment, we verified two claims:

🇺🇳 Claim 1: President Joseph Boakai said 202 United Nations peacekeepers died in Liberia during the country's 14-year civil conflict.

🕊️ Verdict: Mostly Correct.

Evidence: According to the UN and the United Nations Foundation, around 200 peacekeepers died while serving in Liberia under UNMIL, due to illness, accidents, or other causes.

👩🏾‍💼 Claim 2: Speaker of the The Honourable House of Representatives Republic of Liberia, Richard Nagbe Koon, said the proportion of women in the Legislature has "steadily declined" since 2006.

📉 Verdict: Mostly Correct.

Evidence: According to data from NEC Liberia, the percentage of women dropped from 14.8% in 2006 to 10.67% by 2014 -- and has remained stagnant at 10.67% through the 2023 elections.

This fact-check is part of a media partnership to counter disinformation, supported by Internews in Liberia with funding from the European Union in Liberia.

Listen to the audio to get more details on these two fact-check reports.

📲 Got a viral claim you’d like fact-checked?
📩 WhatsApp us at 0777556296
Follow us on X:| and www.localvoicesliberia.com for more fact checks

04/06/2025

📢 We Want to Hear from You!

For the past six months, Local Voices Liberia’s Fact-Check Radio Segment has been airing weekly on OKOKFM 99.5 & OKTVOKOK FM 99.5PrPrime FM Monrovia 105.5KoKoolM, and Kear Radio KCKCNTVhelping listeners verify public claims and counter misinformation.

🎙️ Now we need your feedback to make it even better!

📝 Take a few minutes to complete this short survey and help us:

✅ Assess the impact of the fact-checking program
✅ Ensure the quality of our content
✅ Strengthen public trust in the information we share
✅ Identify opportunities for improvement and growth

We want to know:

* Has the program helped you better understand public claims?
* How can we make the segment more useful, relevant, or accessible to you?

🔗 https://forms.gle/tcCwjyTuyZQkomK68

🕒 It takes just a few minutes, but your input is vital to improving how we serve you and your community.

Thank you for supporting Local Voices Liberia’s mission to promote truth, transparency, and accountability through radio!

04/06/2025

:

Liberian activist Martin K. N. Kollie claimed ArcelorMittal exported 6.4 million metric tons of iron ore and earned US$477.2 million, citing the 15th LEITI Report.

✅ Verified: The LEITI report confirms the figures for July 2021–Dec 2022.

04/06/2025

: Liberian activist Martin K. N. Kollie claimed in a Facebook post on May 27 that ArcelorMittal Liberia exported 6.4 million metric tons of Liberia’s iron ore and generated US$477.2 million. Kollie cited the 15th EITI Report published by the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI).

We have verified this claim by reviewing the 15TH LEITI Report and found that between July 2021 and December 2022, ArcelorMitatal exported 6.4 million metric tons of iron ore from Liberia and generated US$477.2 million, according to the report.



Internews in Liberia Liberia Fact-Checking Network Ministry of Finance and Development Planning Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT) OKFM 99.5 & OKTV KCNTV Prime FM Monrovia 105.5

In Summary: Liberian activist Martin K. N. Kollie claimed in a Facebook post on May 27 that ArcelorMittal exported 6.4 million metric tons of Liberia’s iron ore and generated US$477.2 million, citing the 15th EITI Report. We have verified this claim by reviewing the 15TH LEITI Report and found it ...

04/06/2025

Recently, the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT), issued a statement condemning comments it claimed were made by Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr..

We have reviewed the original statement made by the Bomi lawmaker during interviews, which were livestreamed on SPOON TV LIVE.

We found that a portion of one of the interviews was manipulated, and the quotes attributed to Senator Snowe in the government statement were not what he said in the Spoon FM interviews.



Internews in Liberia Liberia Fact-Checking Network Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT) OKFM 99.5 & OKTV KCNTV Prime FM Monrovia 105.5 OK FM 99.5

In Summary: Recently, the Government of Liberia issued a statement condemning comments it claimed were made by Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe We have reviewed the original statement made by the Bomi lawmaker which was livestreamed on Spoon FM We found that a portion of one of the interviews....

03/06/2025

: In this edition of the fact-check segment, we verified three claims:

🎙️ Claim 1: The Liberian government, through the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT) claims that Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr. vowed to make the Boakai administration fail, even if it means discouraging foreign investment and making the country ungovernable.

📺 Verdict: Misleading. Our review of Spoon FM interviews shows Senator Snowe did not make these specific comments. Viral clips circulating with him saying he wants people to die and the country to suffer were manipulated and taken out of context.

⛏️ Claim 2: Activist Martin K. N. Kollie said ArcelorMittal exported 6.4 million metric tons of iron ore and earned US$477.2 million, citing the 15th LEITI Report.

📊 Verdict: Correct. The 15th LEITI Report confirms these exact figures for the period July 2021–December 2022.

🗳️ Claim 3: Grand Gedeh Superintendent Alex Grant said the county contributed 6.7% of George Weah’s total votes in 2005.

📉 Verdict: Incorrect. NEC records show Grand Gedeh contributed 4.19% of Weah’s 2005 votes -- not 6.7%.

This fact-check is part of a media partnership to counter disinformation, supported by Internews in Liberia with funding from the European Union in Liberia.

Listen to the audio to get more details on these two fact-check reports.

📲 Got a viral claim you’d like fact-checked?
📩 WhatsApp us at 0777556296
Follow us on X:| and www.localvoicesliberia.com for more fact checks

29/05/2025

: In this edition of the fact-check segment, we verified two claims:

🎥 Claim 1: Hon Acarous Moses Gray posted a video claiming it shows President Boakai at a 2019 “Weah Step Down” protest.

🔎 Fact: Misleading. The video is actually from August 2020, during an anti-rape protest in Monrovia. It has no link to the “Weah Step Down” campaign.

📉 Claim 2: Aloysius Howe claimed that 7 in 10 people in Montserrado live in poverty and 8 in 10 in rural areas.

📊 Fact: Incorrect. According to the 2023 Liberia Poverty Assessment, only 3 in 10 people in Monrovia are poor. While 8 in 10 in rural areas were poor, this data is from 2016.

This fact-check is part of a media partnership to counter disinformation, supported by Internews in Liberia with funding from the European Union in Liberia.
Listen to the audio to get more details on these two fact-check reports.

📲 Got a viral claim you’d like fact-checked?
📩 WhatsApp us at 0777556296
Follow us on X:| and www.localvoicesliberia.com for more fact checks

29/05/2025

: Former lawmaker Hon Acarous Moses Gray shared a video on Facebook of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr at a protest scene, claiming that Mr. Boakai had attended a protest dubbed “Weah Step Down Campaign” back in 2019.

We have fact-checked the video by conducting a rigorous reverse image search using online digital tools.

We found that the video shared by Mr. Gray was taken during a three-day anti-rape protest staged in 2020.



Internews in Liberia Liberia Fact-Checking Network Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT) OKFM 99.5 & OKTV OK FM 99.5 Prime FM Monrovia 105.5

In Summary: Former lawmaker Acarous Moses Gray shared a video on Facebook of President Joseph Boakai at a protest scene, claiming that Mr. Boakai had attended a protest dubbed “Weah Step Down Campaign” back in 2019. We have fact-checked the video by conducting a rigorous reverse image search usi...

28/05/2025

>>>>>> 🎯 Fact Check Alert!

On May 22, talk show host Stanton Witherspoon claimed on SPOON TV LIVE Talk that the Asset Recovery Taskforce (AREPT) received US$1,050,000 in the 2024 National Budget.

📌 The :

A review of the official 2024 National Budget shows that AREPT was actually allocated US$750,000 -- not the amount Mr. Witherspoon claimed.

⚠️ Verdict: Misleading.

Let’s stick to the facts when holding institutions accountable. 💡



Liberia Fact-Checking Network Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT) Ministry of Finance and Development Planning Internews in Liberia Center for Media Studies and Peace Building SPOON TV LIVE OK FM 99.5 OKFM 99.5 & OKTV

On May 22, Stanton Witherspoon, lead host of Spoon Talk on Spoon FM/TV, claimed that the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT) received US$1,050,000 (one million fifty thousand United States dollars) in the 2024 National Budget to support its operations. Mr. Witherspoon made the cl...