Claim: The claim made by NÄDÏS on September 5, 2023, about Cameroon – native doctor mistakenly makes his client’s (‘pastor’) picture go viral is false.
Verdict: Misleading. The photo went viral in November last year of a man cheating with a pregnant woman in Zambia.
The news brief stated that the picture of a supposed pastor went viral on social media after a native doctor mistakenly sent it to some of his contacts. However, the post had 34 likes, 35 comments and 45 shares. After reading some of the comments and noticing very conflicting views, I decided to fact-check the post. To do this, I performed a Google reverse image search which indicated that the picture went viral in November 2022.
Importance of fact checking religious stories
Fact checking religious stories is important in a society, particularly those that hold the church and religious leaders in high esteem like Cameroon. It can help prevent the spread of false or misleading information that can harm people’s faith, values, or actions. Moreover, religious stories can sway people’s beliefs and actions, but also mislead, trick, or provoke them. Therefore, fact checking helps people verify the information they get and decide based on facts, not rumours or propaganda.
The method used to fact check this article is Google reverse image search. This tool lets users find an image’s original source. They can upload it or paste its URL on Google’s search engine. This way, they can check the image’s origin, context, and date. They can also see if it matches the story. This helped us identify that the image has been taken out of context for a misleading narrative.
Our investigation revealed that someone actually created the picture in question by collaging two images. The first image shows a man in a suit behind a pulpit. The second image shows a screenshot of a cheating pregnant wife in bed. The video was shared on Twitter in November 2022. In the video, fetish items surround the man who caught his wife and the ‘pastor’ naked. There are calabash, gourd, red and black material, candles, and a pot. The woman cries while the ‘pastor’ tries to wear his boxer to cover his nakedness.
Findings
On November 17, 2022, NWA IGBO Agbalanze, a Facebook page, published the same picture with the caption “Una Daddy G.O Man of God in the day Agbalanze please stop talking about men of God”. Meanwhile, the cheated husband recorded and shared a video on Twitter on the same day. The video showed his pregnant wife having it raw with her pastor on his matrimonial bed. OluSeyi captioned the video “Husband caught pregnant wife having it raw with her pastor on his matrimonial bed.” Do you think the man should forgive her and move on??”. Furthermore, Voiceofnaijang took to Instagram on the same day to share Nigerians’ reactions to the issue. However, an online media source in Zambia called Zambia Today posted on Facebook on November 19, 2022, stating that the identity of the man in question is not a pastor but rather a native doctor. The picture of him behind the pulpit was taken at a wedding ceremony he attended in 2019. None of these findings reveal it is a Cameroon – native doctor.
Facts About The Post
Reports say that the incident happened in Zambia. The husband with the camera caught his naked pregnant wife, Martha, with the ‘pastor’ from Congo. Zambia Online says the video is of a safe delivery ritual. Our investigation found no evidence to support the claim that the native doctor mistakenly made his client’s (‘pastor’) picture go viral by sharing it with someone else. Therefore, we rate this news brief as misleading news.
Previous fact checks
Social Media and Youth Mental Health (MeetUP)
Hoax ‘documentary’ about human flesh-eating
Fact check: Coup in Niger sparks fake news
Eric Tataw’s Recent Arrest is Not Connected to His Separatist Links
The Role of Clickbait and Sensationalism in Creating Disinformation and its Impact on Society
The Article “Welcome to Yaounde” by TGP Newspaper is Misleading
