Latest news with #Amharic
AFP
5 hours ago
- Politics
- AFP
Video shows a Russian pilgrimage, not Israelis evacuating over Iran strikes
Israel's attack on Iran on June 13, 2025, triggered retaliatory measures by Iran and turned the decades-long enmity between the two into a rapidly-spiralling military conflict. A video compilation circulating on Facebook in Ethiopia claims to show Israelis fleeing cities en masse following a warning from Iran. However, this is false: the video shows footage from the Velikoretsky religious pilgrimage in Russia, which took place earlier this month, as well as people setting off en masse to collect a medicinal fungus on a mountainside in Nepal. The text accompanying the video post in Amharic reads: 'Israelis leave cities due to Iran's warning to evacuate their cities.' Image Screenshot of the false post, taken on June 19, 2025 'Happy trip,' reads the English text overlay, accompanied by an emoji of the Israeli flag. The 29-second video is composed of three clips divided into two sections. In the top half of the screen, hundreds of people are seen walking in a hilly, dry landscape. In the bottom half of the screen, a crowd of people are shown walking down a street, all headed in the same direction and most of them wearing large backpacks. Then, a crowd is seen from above crossing a bridge. The video was published on June 17, 2025, and has been shared more than 190 times since. A similar post was also posted here on Facebook and shared more than 5,000 times. Israel-Iran conflict After decades of bad blood and a long shadow war, Israel launched a massive bombing campaign on 13 June 2025, to which Iran responded with a barrage of missiles and drones. AFP reported that as of June 19, 2025, more than 200 Iranians and Israelis were killed in the missile attacks on both sides, with hundreds more wounded (archived here). A hospital in southern Israel was hit when Iran fired a barrage of missiles, while the Israeli army said it had hit an "inactive nuclear reactor" in Arak, Iran. International media also reported that on June 15, 2025, Iranian forces warned Israelis to leave their country in the face of increasing rocket attacks (archived here). However, the video does not show Israelis fleeing their cities. Velikoretsky pilgrimage AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video. For the footage of the crowd walking in the street and across a bridge, the search results include an X post from June 6, 2025 (archived here). Важное событие, о котором МОЛЧАТ практически все СМИ 22 тысячи православных русских людей идут Великорецким крестным ходом. Идут во славу Христа, Богородицы и Николая Угодника 22 тыс человек оставили дела и работу, чтобы несколько дней молиться Господу о прощении грехов — olga_1205 (@k_ollga) June 6, 2025 Text in Russian accompanying the video indicates that it shows thousands of Russians who took part in the Velikoretsky religious pilgrimage earlier this month. The Velikoretsky is a Russian Orthodox procession that takes place in early June every year, covering 110 miles (177 kilometres) and passing through 12 locations in the Kirov region (archived here). The official website for the city of Kirov featured a story about the pilgrimage held earlier this month on June 3, 2025, which includes a picture corresponding to the footage (archived here). Image Screenshots of the image from Kirov's website (left) and the false post, taken on June 18, 2025 Meanwhile, search results for the clip of people walking in the hills established that it was originally posted on Telegram on June 2, 2025, more than a week before the start of the Israeli-Iranian conflict. The clip shows a crowd of people in search of a medical fungus known as Yarsagumba around Mount Dolpa in western Nepal. Every year, people head to the highlands of Dolpa to harvest Yarsagumba, a rare and highly valued medicinal fungus (archived here). Neither of the three clips is related to Israel or the ongoing conflict with Iran.
AFP
2 days ago
- Politics
- AFP
Ethiopian minister's interview distorted to claim she issued stern warning to Eritrean leader
Relations between neighbours Ethiopia and Eritrea have deteriorated in recent months over access to the Red Sea. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki recently accused Ethiopia of preparing for war. Amid the rising tensions, posts published on Facebook with a photo of Isaias purport to show a video of Ethiopian Defence Minister Aisha Mohammed issuing an official warning to the Eritrean leader. Although Aisha discussed unnamed external rivals, neither the original interview nor the misleading video contains an explicit warning aimed at the Eritrean head of state. The Amharic text accompanying the Facebook post reads: 'Breaking news: Ethiopian Defence Minister Aisha Mohammed has issued an official stern warning to the leader of Shabia.' Shabia refers to the Eritrean government. Image Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on June 17, 2025 Published on May 31, 2025, the post has been shared more than 220 times. In the video, which is more than a minute long, Aisha is seen speaking in what looks like an interview. As she talks, a photo of Isaias is displayed, along with clips of Ethiopian troops. 'The Ethiopian army was not built in a way that external rival forces would consider. It is not built to respond to forces operating in Ethiopia and supported by foreign forces,' Aisha says at the beginning of the video in Amharic. 'The army was built to protect Ethiopia from all external forces that intend to violate the country's sovereignty based on any miscalculation,' she adds. She also outlines the role of the army. 'Local militias can respond appropriately to local clashes that occur here and there. We train the local militias, we equip them, and most importantly, we have people who can defend themselves.' She continues: 'Ethiopia's army knows that there is no place other than Ethiopia that suits its destiny; it has no ethnicity and believes that Ethiopia is its destiny.' Aisha then asserts that Ethiopia has a military that is 'committed to protecting Ethiopia 24/7 with a highly reliable capability'. She concludes by saying that 'Ethiopia's army has developed new military capabilities based on the current international requirements' and that 'the navy force, special brigade and cyber security brigade and others have been installed'. A similar post was also shared here on Facebook. Ethio-Eritrean relations Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, but a border conflict between 1998 and 2000 killed around 80,000 people (archived here). Later, after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office, Ethiopia and Eritrea reached a peace agreement, with Ethiopia accepting a UN-backed border commission decision. The Eritrean army even allied with Abiy's federal government during the 2020-2022 Tigray war. However, relations between the two countries have deteriorated recently after landlocked Ethiopia sought access to the Red Sea, with Eritrea accusing it of eyeing its port of Assab. Speaking during Eritrea's 34th independence anniversary in May 2025, Isaias accused Ethiopia of preparing for another war in the name of accessing the sea (archived here). However, the claim that Aisha issued a stern warning against Isaias is misleading. Edited video AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video. The results revealed that a longer version of the video was published on the official YouTube channel of the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) on June 2, 2025 (archived here). Aisha discusses a range of issues, including the army's organisation, duties, military capabilities, and its commitment to upholding the rule of law. She also responds to allegations of human rights violations. However, in neither the original interview nor the misleading video does Aisha expressly mention or warn the Eritrean leader. AFP Fact Check established that the Facebook clip contains different sections from Aisha's original interview edited together to give the impression that she was addressing Isaias. Image Screenshots of the original video published by EBC (left) and the misleading version, taken on June 11, 2025 The clip was specifically drawn from three segments of the original interview: minutes 4'27' to 4'44', 5'29' to 6'10', and 26'42' to 27'23'. The first 55 seconds of the misleading clip came from minutes 26'42' to 27'23' of the original video. In this segment, Aisha was responding to the journalist's question about Ethiopia's alleged portrayal as a country engulfed in a national crisis. She claimed that unnamed external rivals wrongly viewed the country's rise in the Horn of Africa region as a threat to their national security, explaining that the army is built to protect the country against all forms of external aggression. The subsequent segment of the misleading clip running from 56 to 62 seconds was lifted from the original video's 4'27' to 4'44' mark. Here, Aisha was discussing the army's mission and professional discipline. Finally, the concluding part of the misleading clip comes from 5'29' to 6'10' of the original video, during which Aisha spoke about the modern military capabilities of the Ethiopian army and the installation of the special and cyber security brigades.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Want to help with Seattle's school superintendent search? Here's how.
Seattle Public Schools is searching for its next superintendent, and they're asking for the public's help. Families, community members, and even students have the chance to weigh in on what they want for the next leader of education. People can fill out an online survey, which closes June 30 or attend one of the following meetings: Family and Community Engagement Sessions Friday, June 20 (in person) 6:00 p.m. @ Franklin High School (3013 Mt Baker Blvd) Saturday, June 21 (in person) 3:00 p.m. @ Cleveland High School (5511 15th Ave S) Friday, June 27 (virtual) 6:00 p.m. (Join the Friday, June 27, 6:00 p.m. meeting) Saturday, June 28 (virtual) 10:00 a.m. (Join the Saturday, June 28, 10:00 a.m. meeting) Single-Language Engagement Sessions Monday, June 16 – Chinese 6:00 p.m. (Join the Monday, June 16, 6:00 p.m. – Chinese meeting) Tuesday, June 17 – Amharic 6:00 p.m. (Join the Tuesday, June 17, 6:00 p.m. – Amharic meeting) Thursday, June 26 – Spanish 6:00 p.m. (Join the Thursday, June 26, 6:00 p.m. – Spanish meeting) Thursday, June 26 – Somali 7:15 p.m. (Thursday, June 26, 7:15 p.m. – Somali meeting link) Friday, June 27 – Vietnamese 7:15 p.m. (Join the Friday, June 27, 7:15 p.m. – Vietnamese meeting link) Staff Engagement Sessions All staff engagement sessions are virtual, and links will be shared via email. Tuesday, June 3 Certificated staff, 4:00 p.m. Classified staff, 4:00 p.m. Thursday, June 5 Central Office staff, 3:00 p.m. Certificated and classified staff, 6:00 p.m. Friday, June 6 School leaders, 4:00 p.m. Student Engagement Sessions Thursday, May 29 4:00 p.m. (Thursday, May 29 4:00 p.m. meeting meeting link) 6:30 p.m. (Thursday, May 29, 6:30 p.m. meeting link) In March, Seattle Public Schools announced that the current superintendent, Dr. Brent Jones, would be stepping down in the fall. The district said he wants to spend more time with his family. Dr. Jones' last day with the school district will be Sept. 3. To apply for the job, click here. Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA), the search firm that's helping the school board, has listed the salary range as $330,000 to $385,000. The application deadline is July 31.
AFP
11-06-2025
- Business
- AFP
Doctored clip gives false impression Ethiopian leader asked citizens to pay off country's debt
The text accompanying the video post in Amharic reads: 'Dear Ethiopians, please be ready to contribute cash for foreign debt repayment.' Image Screenshot of the altered post, taken on June 5, 2025 'Guys make ready 71,000 each,' adds the text overlay on the video. The post was published on May 29, 2025, and has been shared more than 370 times. It contains a clip more than a minute long in which Abiy is seen speaking at a gathering. 'Dear Ethiopians living in our country and Ethiopian citizens living in different foreign countries,' Abiy appears to say. 'We have reached a consensus that every Ethiopian should contribute to the repayment of Ethiopia's foreign debt.' He continues: 'Therefore, every Ethiopian and everyone who holds Ethiopian citizenship must contribute 71,000 Ethiopian Birr or 571 dollars. All Ethiopians need to support us to achieve our goals actively.' Footage of a protest follows and then the video switches back to what appears to be Abiy's speech. 'Concern for Ethiopia cannot be expressed through talks alone. Neither can media campaigns. Love for Ethiopia is best expressed through action.' Abiy purportedly adds: 'If you love Ethiopia and you care about Ethiopia, its foreign debt should be repaid immediately.' Some users left angry comments. 'Didn't you give Sudan 60 million dollars as a loan last time? It would have been better if you had paid part of the debt,' wrote one. 'Better sell the new extravagant palace and pay back the debt,' said another. In November 2024, Ethiopia granted South Sudan a loan of more than $738 million (archived here). Abiy has also initiated a multi-billion-dollar project for building a new palace in Addis Ababa (archived here). The posts were also shared here and here on Facebook. Ethiopia's debt In July 2024, Ethiopia launched an economic reform programme by moving to market-determined exchange rates and introducing a new interest-based monetary policy (archived here). As a result, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $3.4 billion in aid. The country is suffering from high foreign debt, with about $30 billion on the books this year. It has been negotiating with its creditors since 2021 to have part of the debt repayments cancelled (archived here). In March 2025, the country reached an agreement in principle with its creditors to restructure part of its debt totalling $8.4 billion. However, Abyi's speech, in which he allegedly calls on his fellow citizens to contribute cash to repay the foreign debt, was created by artificial intelligence (AI). Forensics centre launching AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video. The results revealed that a longer video was published on the official YouTube channel of Gazette Plus, part of the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), on November 16, 2024 (archived here). This footage, more than 16 minutes long, shows a news report on the launch of a new Ethiopian federal police forensics centre of excellence. 'The Federal Police has been equipped with modern technologies as part of the ongoing reform,' reads the video's caption in Amharic. The video begins with a news anchor discussing the reform of the federal police's security and intelligence, followed by a marching band performing in front of Abiy. At 1'20', Abiy begins speaking in Amharic and says: 'The Federal Police Forensic Centre of Excellence that we are opening today is the result of the reforms we have carried out in the last five years.' He adds: 'We have worked tirelessly to modernise our country's law enforcement agencies, organise them in terms of knowledge, human resources and technological advancement and realise the sustainability of our great country.' Abiy says that the forensic centre is equipped with facilities that enable it to conduct DNA examinations and other investigations. At no point does Abiy call on Ethiopians to contribute money to repay foreign debts. He does not address Ethiopia's debt at all. Artificially-generated speech The false Facebook post used two segments from Abiy's original speech – at 5'03'-5'28' and 11'40'-11'51' – and replaced them with artificially created audio. While the words are spoken in Amharic, the accent is irregular, as are the pronunciations of some words. For example, 'Ethiopia' and 'Ethiopian' are pronounced as 'Utubia' and 'Utubian'. There are also clear discrepancies between the words and Abiy's lip movements. For example, Abiy's mouth barely moves when he says '..every Ethiopian and everyone who holds Ethiopian citizenship..'. Image Screenshots of the original video (left) and the altered version. Taken on June 5, 2025 AFP Fact Check also ran the audio through an audio deepfake detector called DeepfakeTotal. Image Screenshot of the results generated by DeepfakeTotal. Taken on June 9, 2025 The results showed a more than 85 percent probability that the audio was artificially created. AFP Fact Check has previously debunked AI-generated videos on a range of topics in Ethiopia, such as here, here and here.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Posts misleadingly claim Ethiopian innovator built intercontinental ballistic missile
The text in Amharic that accompanies the post reads: 'A young Ethiopian has built an intercontinental ballistic missile that surpasses the North Korean one.' The post was published on Facebook on May 25, 2025, and has been shared more than 1,300 times. The post contains a three-minute video showing what looks like a missile on display in public. Text written in Amharic on a banner in the background reads: 'Ethiopian National Skill Competition and Exhibition.' The video begins with a presenter introducing a young Ethiopian innovator named Haile Selassie Abera. 'The young man explained that he has been inspired by the North Korean Hwasong 19 to build a new model of ballistic missile,' says the presenter. Haile Selassie explains: 'I modelled it on the North Korean Hwasong 19 intercontinental ballistic missile.' 'In the course of development, I identified some limitations of the North Korean model and improved them in my innovation model,' he said. He further claims that his model would produce less carbon. At 1'25' in the video, the Ethiopian Labour Minister, Muferihat Kamil, speaks about training programmes. 'We believe that the technique and skill development programs are not limited to developing skills,' she says 'They aim at achieving productive citizens and a competitive economy as well as promoting indigenous technological advancement.' A similar post was also shared here on Facebook. Ethiopia is ramping up its military development amidst regional rivalries with neighbouring countries over access to the Red Sea. In March 2025, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated an ammunition factory, noting that the country has improved its capacity to produce ammunition domestically and is now able to export its production (archived here). In the same month, Abiy also launched Sky Wing Industry, a company that manufactures unmanned drones for civilian and military purposes (archived here). However, the claim that the video shows an Ethiopian intercontinental ballistic missile is misleading. AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video. The results included the original video by Gazette Plus, a YouTube channel run by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA). It was published on May 19, 2025 (archived here). The video is originally a 16-minute-long news report on the 4th Ethiopian National Skills Competition and Exhibition held in Addis Ababa from May 5-10, 2025 under the theme: 'Bright Minds, Skilled Citizens.' The video starts with the news presenter briefly talking about the evolution of intercontinental ballistic missiles around the world. At 2'02', one of the participants is interviewed. 'Haile Selassie learnt from the experience of the great powers and created a model of missile technology that fits Ethiopia's current technological progress and gives hope for the future destiny of his country,' the presenter says. This statement was removed from the misleading Facebook video, omitting the crucial fact that the video shows a model of a missile, not a real one. From 4'55' to 6'36', we hear Haile Selassie's explanation of the model he built based on the North Korean Hwasong-19 ICBM, as well as the labour minister's comments. This part remains unchanged in the misleading video. A comparison of photos of the North Korean Hwasong-19, obtained from the NK News website, with the model created by Haile Selassie shows notable differences in size and design (archived here). At 8'56' in the original video, Haile Selassie clarifies that the model he created is not a functional missile. 'I want the support of the government so that I can attend a better school where I can get practical lessons and continue my innovations,' he said. 'If I get proper support, it will be possible to build the missile using the model.' At 10'18', Haile Selassie also describes the materials he used. 'I obtained leftover materials from five different sources: construction materials, electronics maintenance shops, automotive repair shops, carpentry shops, and various discarded materials I collected from garbage bins.' The misleading video again omitted these details to create the incorrect impression that it showed a real, functional ICBM.
