Claim
“Only the top people in the government needs to be getting paid on time – we will pay everyone else two times a year.”
Summary
An image being shared online mainly through WhatsApp attributes a statement to Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee saying that “only the top people in the government needs to be getting paid on time – we will pay everyone else two times a year” was manipulated.
Rating justification
Local Voices Liberia Fact Checking Desk verified this claim and found no proof of Mayor Jefferson Koijee making such a claim.
To attain this conclusion, we did a reverse image search of the image using Google, Tineye and Yandex search engines and found no match to the image and no clue of where it was formally posted.
We also searched Mayor Koijee’s authentic Facebook accounts Mayor Jefferson Tamba Koijee, and Jefferson T. Koijee quotes and didn’t find the claim made either.
We researched and listened through the audios of all press conferences held by Mayor Koijee in recent weeks and was aired on Spoon TV and LNTV and found no evidence of such a claim being made by him.
We then called the contact number on Jefferson T. Koijee quotes and spoke with the page’s administrator Mohammed M. Bamba who is also the administrative assistant to Mayor Koijee, and he informed us that the quote is incorrect and at no point in time did the Mayor Koijee make such a statement.
Conclusion
Based on our verification and the evidence obtained, we conclude that the image carrying a quote attributed to Mayor Koijee is misleading and is most likely a manipulated content created to spread disinformation.
________________________________________________________________________Note:
Manipulated images are digital photographs or visual content that has been altered or modified in some way to convey a different message, create a false narrative to deceive viewers.
Manipulated images can be created through photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, or flyer makers where elements of an image can be added, removed, or manipulated. This can include changes in colors, contrast, lighting, or the addition of objects or people that were not present in the original photo.
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.
