The original image is a stock photo and does not include a screen where the image of the father of the child is shown.
Syndicated Story By PesaCheck.
An image of a pregnancy testing kit that a Facebook user claims reveals the father’s identity is ALTERED.
The image is a close-up of a hand holding an unbranded pregnancy test kit, showing a positive result and a picture of the supposed father.
“Ladies roundi hii hamna bahati…kudanganya hati mimba ni yangu na si yangu (Ladies, this time around your luck has run out…claiming that I impregnated you and yet it’s false),” reads the post accompanying the image.
A reverse search of the image, however, reveals that it is a stock photo of a pregnancy testing kit that was uploaded on depositphotos.com in 2012. It does not include a screen where the image of the supposed father is shown as claimed.
The technology around pregnancy testing has advanced over time to deliver more reliable results within just a few weeks of pregnancy. However, the suggestion that an all-in-one test that combines both the pregnancy and paternity results is untrue.
As of 2021, what is considered an advanced home pregnancy test uses antibodies to assess the level of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) found in urine.
The standard process of paternity testing involves collecting and analysing DNA samples of both the father and the child.
PesaCheck has looked into the image claiming to show a pregnancy testing kit that reveals an image of the father and finds it to be ALTERED.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Simon Muli and edited by PesaCheck chief copy editor Rose Lukalo.
The article was approved for publication by managing editor Enock Nyariki.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.
