Following reports of a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberian Facebook blogger Yekeh Kolubah has been circulating misleading claims about the virus on social media.
Some of the posts falsely suggest that an Ebola Virus Disease outbreak has already reached Liberia.
In one recent post, the blog shared a voice recording of a woman believed to be a nurse at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Monrovia.
In the audio recording, the woman alleged that Ebola had entered Liberia through the JFK Hospital and claimed that hospital authorities were concealing the information from the public.
She further claimed that five Liberians who recently traveled to Uganda for a church conference had returned home showing signs and symptoms associated with the virus.
The lady, identified as Paola N. Bedell was later apprehended and turned over to the Liberia National Police for investigation.
The Claim
The Facebook blogger shared the voice recording with this caption: “Ebola is in Liberia. Stay safe as of now. Avoid close contacts.”
Rating Justification
To verify the claim, we reviewed a joint press release issued by the Ministry of Health, the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital.
According to the statement, contrary to claims circulating on social media, there were no suspected, probable, or confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease in Liberia at the time.
The institutions also described the circulating voice recording as disinformation intended to create unnecessary public panic and urged citizens to remain calm.
Conclusion
Based on the available evidence, we conclude that the claim that Ebola is currently in Liberia is misleading.
The Liberian government, through the Ministry of Health, NPHIL, and JFK Hospital, maintains that there are no confirmed Ebola cases in the country and that the viral voice recording was intended to spread fear and misinformation.
