Claim: Video of Unity Party Vice Standard Bearer Jeremiah Koung speaking about the mental ability of Amb. Joseph Boakai
Verdict: True, but Out-of-Context
A short video of Unity Party Vice Standard Bearer Jeremiah Koung critiquing the mental ability of Joseph Boakai to lead Liberia has recently surfaced online but a check by iVerify Liberia found it to be an excerpt of a full interview done in 2021.
However, this exact part of the full video, which was recorded in 2021, was extracted and is being played in 2023 at the time when Mr. Koung is now the running mate to Mr. Boakai for the October 2023 presidential election.
The background of the short video shows that Mr. Koung was being interviewed in the OK FM studio in Monrovia.
Since the video appeared online some have claimed that the video is fake or has been doctored. So, iVerify Liberia sought to verify the authenticity of the video.
How Did We Verify
We first begin researching the video by conducting reverse image search of the video, which did not find any result other than the many times the short clips have appeared online.
We also verified the video using Deepware.ai – an online tool that is used to scan videos in order to detect manipulation of Artificial Intelligence software. The online tool only provided information about the video and audio quality, and nothing on the chances of the video been a product of any AI software.
So, nothing about the video been edited or manipulated was established from our verification using online tools. While analyzing the video, recognized the voice of Julius Jeh, the main host of the Afternoon Conversation on OK FM, as being the interviewer.
We reached out to journalist Jeh inquiring about the interview. Mr. Jeh replied in a WhatsApp message saying “yes” that he hosted Senator Koung and then shared with us the original link of the interview.
The full video recording of the interview which can be found on OK FM Facebook page is about two-hour hours twenty minutes long (2:20:00) and was recorded on September 15, 2021.
At around the two-hour-fourth minute of the video, Mr. Koung was asked about the struggles in the Collaborating Political Party (CPP) – an opposition bloc that comprised of four major political party which has now split.
Responding to the question, Mr. Koung then began to talk about the health condition of the Unity Party standard bearer Mr. Joseph Boakai.
His words were: “I supported Joseph Boakai [in 2017 elections] knowing that by 2023 he will be tired; he could have a good heart, everything good but the brain is going down”.
He continued: “I thought the Oldman could be president in 2017, and he himself said it that he would run [rule] for one term and I agreed with him. 2023? No, I disagreed, in my mind he should rest, find someone else and support the person”.
Conclusion
We conclude that excerpt of full video published on the Facebook page of Okay FM in September 2021 is the exact same video being shared online. That was an excerpt from a full interview.
The recent viral video is not fake, but it is a short clip or excerpt of a full livestream video from a 2021 radio interview. We conclude that the video is an out-of-context content.
Local Voices Liberia, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, has implemented the iVerify Liberia system with the objective of strengthening capacities to address threats to information integrity, especially in view of the upcoming 2023 elections, to ensure all Liberian citizens have access to credible, reliable and verified information, everywhere and at all times.
This initiative is funded by Irish Aid, Embassy of Sweden in Monrovia, European Union Delegation in Liberia and the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund. The donors have no say in the production of this fact check report.