FALSE: The BBC did not report that Eritrea officially launched its nuclear power programme

This

X

(formerly Twitter) post, featuring a purported

BBC r

eport about Eritrea officially launching its nuclear power programme, is FALSE.

The post reads, “Eritrea officially launched its nuclear power programme. A source in Keren told the BBC that relatives in Asmara had described even larger storage facilities being built underground in the mountains outside Nakfa.”

Nakfa is a town and sub-region in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea.

The screenshot shows a purported *BBC *article that states, “Eritrea officially launches its nuclear power programme, with plans to expand electricity production, reduce reliance on hydropower and support industrial development. One resident of Keren, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told BBC Tigrinya.”

However, the BBC did not publish the said article. *BBC Africa’*s news editor Joseph Winter dismissed the claim as fake.

“I can confirm that this is not a genuine BBC report,” Winter told PesaCheck via email.

Additionally, an examination of the *BBC’s *official website reveals no evidence of any report matching the claim. Also, there are no other media reports on Eritrea officially launching its nuclear power programme.

Similarly, BBC articles typically display a bold headline, a publication date, and the reporter’s name above the featured image. In contrast, the screenshot shared in the post displays plain text without a visible headline, publication date, byline or image. It also contains an unmatched closing quotation mark and an incomplete sentence ending with “told BBC Tigrinya.”

*Screenshot of a genuine BBC *

article

• vs. the screengrab under investigation.*

PesaCheck has looked into an X post featuring a purported BBC report about Eritrea officially launching its nuclear power programme and finds it to be FALSE.

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This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.

Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?* Here’s how you can report*. And,* here’s** more information on** PesaCheck’s methodology** for fact-checking questionable content.*

*This fact-check was written by a PesaCheck fact-checker based in Ethiopia (name withheld for security reasons) 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. *

*PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It 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. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. **PesaCheck *also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.

PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.

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FALSE: The BBC did not report that Eritrea officially launched its nuclear power programme

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