A social media post claiming that the Libyan city of Ajdabiya is transforming its surrounding desert into a beautiful and modern area has been flagged as misleading. The post, first spotted on a Facebook page on June 20, 2024, at 6:53 PM Libyan time, garnered around 1.7 thousand interactions and 87 comments by June 21, 2024. The image accompanying the post shows a desert landscape with heavy machinery.
An investigation by Annir, a fact-checking organization, found that the image is not from Ajdabiya, Libya, but rather from China's Inner Mongolia. A reverse search on Google led to an article on the Arabic website of the Chinese newspaper "Shanbao" (arabic.people.cn), which published the image on May 27, 2024. The article states that the photo was taken in the Kubuqi Desert, Inner Mongolia, where a large-scale solar panel project is underway.
The Kubuqi Desert, covering an area of 18,600 square kilometers, is the seventh-largest desert in China and located in the city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia. The solar panel project in question combines solar, wind, and coal power and is set to become the largest renewable energy project in a desert region. Once completed, it will have a capacity of 16 gigawatts and produce around 40 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity for Beijing and the provinces of Tianjin and Hebei.
The Annir team verified that the image does not show a project in Ajdabiya, Libya, but rather a large-scale infrastructure project in China. The post's claim that Ajdabiya is transforming its desert into a modern area appears to be unfounded. The misleading post was shared on multiple Facebook pages, contributing to its spread.
This incident highlights the importance of fact-checking and verifying information before sharing it on social media. Misleading claims can spread quickly and be shared widely, potentially causing confusion and misinforming the public. Annir's investigation demonstrates the need for careful scrutiny of online content.
The organization encourages social media users to be cautious when sharing or believing information that seems too good (or out of place) to be true. Verifying information through reputable sources can help prevent the spread of misinformation and ensure that accurate information is shared.
Annir's findings have led to the classification of the claim as misleading, emphasizing that the image is from a solar panel project in China's desert, not Libya's Ajdabiya.
Key points
- The image circulating online is from a solar panel project in China's Inner Mongolia, not Ajdabiya, Libya.
- The project in China's Kubuqi Desert combines solar, wind, and coal power and will have a capacity of 16 gigawatts.
- The claim that Ajdabiya is transforming its desert into a modern area appears to be unfounded.
