By Victor Mboya
Kenya’s election is only one week away. As the polls approach, false information and manipulated videos have been shared on social media.
The two leading candidates for the presidency are William Ruto, the country’s deputy president and Raila Odinga, a former prime minister. Ruto is leading the United Democratic Alliance party and the Kenya Kwanza alliance of parties. Odinga is leading the Orange Democratic Movement party and the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party.
Photos and videos in which global leaders appear to endorse the presidential candidates have been shared on social media. Previously, fake videos in which Barack Obama and Michelle Obama appeared to endorse Willliam Ruto and Martha Karua were shared.
Now, a photo of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II wearing the UDA logo has been shared on social media. We checked if the picture was genuine.
A reverse image search showed the picture was published in the Daily Mirror, a British tabloid, without the UDA logo. The photo credit attributes the image to Getty Images and UK Press. Another Tineye reverse image search of the photo without the logo brought up an article from People Magazine, a celebrity publication. The article credits Mark Cuthbert, UK Press and Getty Images for the image.
Searching the Getty Images website shows that the picture was taken on 19 June 2018, on the first day of the 2018 Royal Ascot, an annual horse racing event held at the Ascot Racecourse in the United Kingdom. The UDA logo was photoshopped.
