In the last couple of days social media particularly Facebook has been flooded with pictures of a memo dated September 20, 2023 bearing the name and logo of the US Embassy near Monrovia.
Some Facebook users have used the memo to make claims about the Liberian elections scheduled for October 10, 2023.
An online TV named Kyonkour TV made a Facebook post in a group called Shaking Tables which generated over 90 comments and 65 reactions as of the time of publication of this report.
The Claim
Claim: “The U.S Embassy security department issued a cautionary statement that its employees should prepare for the chaos surrounding the Liberian general elections coming up this October 10.”
Verdict: Misleading
Kyonkour TV claimed that the memo was a caution to the Embassy employees to prepare for danger ahead of elections.
The post reads: “The U.S Embassy security department issued a cautionary statement that its employees should prepare for the chaos surrounding the Liberian general elections coming up this October 10.”
The memo, which was directed to all mission employees from the Regional Security Officer Kevin Dougherty, was about emergency supplies and household preparedness.
The memo advice mission employees to have a 72 hours emergency kit and a go-bag when the need to leave home arises.
A list of the items to include in the go-bag were listed in the memo. They include food, water, medication, first aid kit, flashlights and batteries, important documents, cash, clothing and blankets.
Rating Justification
To fact check claim that the memo was a caution for mission employees to prepare for chaos surrounding the Liberian general elections, we first check the official Facebook page of the US Embassy in Liberia.
We saw a Facebook post from the U.S Embassy in Liberia making some clarity on the memo which has gone viral on social media.
The Embassy in the Facebook post said it is aware of the memo circulating social media stating that notice is part of “routine management notices that embassies around the world issue to help U.S. mission personnel prepare in advance for emergencies.”
It furthers that “September is U. S. National Preparedness Month”, the memo has an “excellent list for anyone to use in order to prepare themselves and their family in any sort of emergency.”
To further verify the claim, we sent an email and a message to the embassy but did not get a reply up to the time of publication of this fact check.
Should we have any additional or new information, we will update this report.
Conclusion
Based on these facts, we therefore conclude that the claim that the U. S Embassy in Liberia through its security department issued a cautionary statement that its employees should prepare for the chaos surrounding the Liberian general elections is false.
The embassy said the memo on emergency supplies and household preparedness was part of routine notice to mission employees and the memo has an excellent list for anyone to use to prepare themselves ad their family in any sort of emergency.
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.
