The video is from 2022 and shows members of the NYSC corps training in Benue, Nigeria, to protect themselves against bandits.
Syndicated By PesaChck
This post on X (formerly Twitter) with a video purportedly of the Nigerien army preparing to “deal with coup plotters” is FALSE.
The post reads: “A strange picture of the training of the Niger army to deal with the coup plotters.”
A section of the Nigerien army toppled the President Mohamed Bazoum-led administration on 26 July 2023, causing tension between supporters of the coup and those of the deposed government more so in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of which Niger is a member.
The video is, however, unrelated to the aftermath of the coup in the former French colony.
A separation of the video’s keyframes on InVid WeVerify, followed by an image reverse search on Microsoft Bing, shows that it was taken in Benue State, Nigeria. InVid WeVerify is a video verification tool.
The video was featured in an article with the headline, “Insecurity: NYSC corps members spotted training aggressively in Benue State (Video)”.
Insecurity : NYSC corps members spotted training aggressively in Benue State (Video)
A search for the keywords “NYSC corps members training in Benue State” established that the video dates back to July 2022.
According to a 5 July 2022-dated article, “NYSC corpers in Benue have decided to take on self-defense to protect themselves against the scourge of banditry.”
NYSC corps members spotted training aggressively in Benue (Video)
PesaCheck has looked at a post on social media platform X with a video purportedly of the Nigerien army preparing to deal with coup plotters and finds it to be FALSE.
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 Peris Gachahi and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Cédrick Irakoze and acting chief copy editor Francis Mwaniki.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
