A photo shared on social media, purporting to show the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Felix Tshisekedi, showing affection to his Tanzanian counterpart, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has been found to be altered. The image was shared as a newspaper front page with a caption claiming that Tshisekedi had arrived in Zanzibar to offer condolences to Samia following the death of her husband.
The original image, posted by the Tanzanian State House Communications social media page, shows President Tshisekedi and President Samia facing each other, smiling and exchanging pleasantries while holding hands. The image was taken on August 18, 2026, when Tshisekedi visited Zanzibar for a two-day working visit to strengthen bilateral and regional economic ties.
The altered image, which circulated online on September 9, 2026, two days after President Samia's husband, Hafidh Ameir Hassan, died, was accompanied by a Kiswahili audio making claims about a woman and her plans. However, a Google reverse image search led PesaCheck to the authentic image, which contradicts the claims made in the altered image.
PesaCheck, East Africa's first public finance fact-checking initiative, investigated the image and found it to be altered. The fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Naomi Wanjiku and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Mary Mutisya. The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
The image was shared on TikTok as part of a newspaper front page dubbed JOURNAL EXPLIQUÉ, with text claiming that Tshisekedi's visit was marked by solidarity, compassion, and friendly relations between the DRC and Tanzania. However, the authentic image and a video of the visit show that the two presidents exchanged pleasantries before Tshisekedi signed a book and joined other officials for deliberations.
PesaCheck is part of an ongoing series of fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms. The initiative seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world.
PesaCheck was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein and is being incubated by the continent's largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. The initiative tests the accuracy of media reportage and has been supported by Deutsche Welle Akademie and a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.
Key points
- The image of Felix Tshisekedi showing affection to Samia Suluhu Hassan is altered.
- The authentic image shows the two presidents facing each other, smiling and exchanging pleasantries while holding hands.
- PesaCheck found the image to be part of a series of fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on social media platforms.
