On July 26, 2023, the Niger military staged a coup, announcing it on national television. They implemented a curfew, closed the borders, and suspended all institutions. Two days later, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of Niger’s presidential guard, declared himself the new leader, overthrowing democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, whom the military had detained since July 19. Meanwhile, much content related to the situation is being shared on social media. Some of such claims have no basis. Let’s look at one such post.
Social Media Posts
A video circulated on Facebook purportedly shows the Niger Finance Minister crying and facing accusations of fraud following the coup. The caption accompanying the video suggested that the minister had been given 48 hours to account for the country’s wealth or face execution by the firing squad.
We decided to do a fact-check on this.
Fact Check
From the Invid-We Verify tool, we discovered that the viral video showed former Minister of Justice Marou Amadou crying after he was appointed as Niger`s ambassador to Ethiopia and paying tribute to his former president. The video was shared in December 2021 and is unrelated to the current events.
This is how it was shared on Twitter.
Ahmat Jidoud is the current Nigerien Finance Minister, appointed in 2021 by President Mohamed Bazoum. A comparison of physical appearances confirmed that the person in the viral video was not Ahmat Jidoud.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, the claim that the video depicted the current Finance Minister of Niger crying after being asked to account for stolen money or face execution is false. The video featured the former Minister of Justice and was unrelated to the recent military takeover.
Title:This is NOT a Video of Weeping Niger Finance Minister because the Junta Threatened to Kill Him!
Written By: Kalana KrishanthaResult: False
