On Wednesday October 25, 2023, rumor spread on Facebook Page that Grand Bassa County District #2 Representative elect, Clarence Tipena Banks was reported dead.
Mr. Banks was recently pronounced by NEC as the winner of the district election, defeating incumbent lawmaker, Mary M. Karwor in the October 10 elections.
One of those spreading this rumour was Byron Browne, Jr. known by his Facebook alias Byron Byron.
To fact this claim, we contacted our mobile fact-checker in Grand Bassa County Elton Tiah who informed our Fact Checking Desk that he had spoken to the representative-elect and that he was alive and had travelled to the United States.
We further obtained a video of Mr. Banks debunking the rumor that he was dead. In the video, Mr. Banks can be heard saying:
“I need to inform the public that I am still alive. The rumor that’s going around that I died, or I am sick is not true, don’t believe it. So, I am making this video to let you know that I’m well.”
Conclusion
Based on these facts, we conclude that the claim or Facebook post about the death of Mr. Clarence T. Banks, representative elect of Grand Bassa County, is misleading.
The Grand Bassa County’s District #2 Representative-elect is alive as seen in a video shared with media organizations in Grand Bassa County.
This report was developed with the support of Internews through the USAID Media Activity project. The funder has no say in the editorial decision leading to the production of this content