Africa 'lies' spreading

SURGE: FAKE NEWS ABOUT CONTINENT COME WITH TRUMP'S FAKE TAN

- Tendai Dube

U.S. President Donald Trump's return to office has triggered a surge in disinformation about Africa, researchers say, warning of a radical shift in online media driven by geopolitical disruption and mistrust.

Here are some examples from three African powerhouses in recent weeks, including some claims debunked by AFP Fact Check.

South African 'genocide'? South Africa has come under fire from the new U.S. administration on a range of issues, including a new Act that Trump falsely presented as allowing the government to seize the land of white farmers without compensation.

"South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY," Trump said on social media in February.

But officials and analysts say no land has been confiscated and the Act makes clear that government is obliged to pay fair compensation for any expropriation of property.

Washington's offer to provide "safe refuge" to South Africa's minority Afrikaner community then resuscitated Trump's "white genocide" myth.