A Facebook image supposedly showing the front page of The Sunday Standard newspaper with a headline on Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has been found to be altered. The image, which was shared following a Linda Mwananchi rally in Kwale County on Saturday, 31 October 2026, features a headline that reads: “Sifuna's coastal rally sends political shockwaves through ODM and UDA.” The image also includes a photo of Sifuna addressing a crowd and was shared as officials drummed up support for the 2027 general elections.
However, a thorough review of The Standard's social media platforms revealed no record of such a headline. Instead, the newspaper's actual front page published on Sunday, 1 November 2026, had a different appearance and headline. The differences are notable, with the fake front page lacking a date, proper masthead, price details, and edition number, which are standard features in all editions of The Standard.
Further investigation revealed that the fake front page was likely fabricated from the Saturday, 31 October 2026 edition of The Standard. The ‘Kivumbi 2027’ election countdown on the fake front page suggests 283 days before the 2027 general election, while the actual front page published on 1 November 2026 marks 282 days before the election. This indicates that the altered image was created before the actual publication.
Authentic headlines of The Standard have a distinct style, capitalising only the first letter and proper nouns, unlike the fake front page under scrutiny. PesaCheck contacted Joan Mwai, Standard Group's social media editor, who confirmed that the cover in question was not genuine. “This is not ours,” Mwai said via WhatsApp message.
PesaCheck, East Africa's first public finance fact-checking initiative, has been working to sort fact from fiction on social media platforms. By partnering with Facebook and similar platforms, PesaCheck helps the public gain deeper insight and context into posts they see in their social media feeds. The fact-checking organisation was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein and is being incubated by Code for Africa.
The altered image of The Sunday Standard front page is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms. PesaCheck's methodology for fact-checking involves a thorough review of images and information to verify their accuracy.
The fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Harriet Ogayo and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Mary Mutisya and chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa. The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
Key points
- The image of The Sunday Standard front page with a headline on Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna was altered.
- The fake front page lacked standard features such as a date, masthead, price details, and edition number.
- PesaCheck partners with social media platforms to help sort fact from fiction.
