A recent image of Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino, sporting longer hair and a suit, has been making rounds on social media. The image, which has been flagged as altered, is accompanied by a post that references claims about Owino's supposed Indian heritage. Owino has previously denied such claims, and in January 2026, he flagged a fabricated screenshot supposedly of him admitting to an Indian background.
PesaCheck, a fact-checking initiative, conducted a reverse search of the image and found that it was manipulated. The original image depicts Owino with his characteristic buzz cut. Further investigation led to another image of Owino with a similar background, which was shared on The Mwananchi Party Facebook page as a poster featuring the party's logo and indicating Owino's position as party leader.
A comparison of the two images reveals that Owino's hair was altered, and other features like the party's logo were cropped out. The image was also analyzed using the AI-content detection tool Hive Moderation, which indicated a 76.6 percent probability of the image containing AI elements. This suggests that the image was likely manipulated using artificial intelligence.
PesaCheck has verified that the image is indeed altered and has called out the misinformation on social media. The fact-checking initiative is part of a larger effort to help the public separate fact from fiction on social media platforms. By partnering with Facebook and other platforms, PesaCheck aims to provide deeper insight and context to posts that may be misleading or false.
Babu Owino has been a prominent figure in Kenyan politics, serving as the MP for Embakasi East. His hairstyle has been a subject of discussion in the past, with some claiming that he has been trying to conceal his identity. However, Owino has maintained that his hairstyle is a personal choice and not related to his nationality or identity.
The incident highlights the growing concern about misinformation on social media and the need for fact-checking initiatives like PesaCheck. As the public increasingly relies on social media for information, it is crucial to have independent fact-checkers verifying the accuracy of online content. PesaCheck's work is crucial in this regard, and its findings have helped to debunk several false claims in recent times.
PesaCheck is East Africa's first public finance fact-checking initiative, co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein. The initiative is incubated by Code for Africa, a civic technology and data journalism accelerator. PesaCheck's work focuses on verifying the accuracy of public pronouncements about numbers and finances that shape government delivery of public services.
Key points
- The image of Babu Owino with longer hair was altered using artificial intelligence.
- PesaCheck conducted a reverse search of the image to verify its authenticity.
- The incident highlights the growing concern about misinformation on social media.
