Claim
A YouTube channel named ‘Ramailo TV’ reported that 5 people were killed in an anti-MCC protest, the army had taken over the country, schools will be closed from tomorrow.
Another YouTube Channel claimed that Nepal Army has warned the Government for MCC agreements.
Source
Fact Check
Reverse search found that no holiday was announced for schools and no army was deployed for anti-MCC protests. While the United States Ambassador to Nepal, Randy Berry addressed student officers and faculty at the Nepal Army Command and Staff College in Kathmandu on Tuesday, the ambassador reiterated that the program did not have anything to do with any military alliance with Nepal.
“When people claim that a development program like the MCC commits Nepal to join a military alliance—despite the fact that it is against US law to use MCC funding for military activities and all of the MCC information is available publicly—it means Nepal risks losing out on a grant assistance program and an economic opportunity that has so much potential that every Nepali party in power has tried to secure it for over a decade.”
He clarified that the US government never wanted to establish a military base in Nepal nor form a military alliance.
Upon checking Press Release of Nepal Army, it was found that Nepal Army haven’t given any statements regarding MCC agreements.
Source
https://www.nepalarmy.mil.np/archive/press-release/2022
Rating
False
Conclusion
After deeply investigating the claim made by an independent YouTube channel, our forensic team has found that no holiday was announced for schools and no army was deployed for anti-MCC protests. While the United States Ambassador to Nepal, Randy Berry addressed student officers and faculty at the Nepal Army Command and Staff College in Kathmandu on Tuesday, the ambassador reiterated that the program did not have anything to do with any military alliance with Nepal. Circulating such news is an attempt to mislead general public and create chaos amidst ongoing situation in Nepal. Upon checking Press Release of Nepal Army, it was found that Nepal Army haven’t given any statements regarding MCC agreements, which nullifies the claim made independent YouTube Channels to mislead the people.
ABCDE Framework-Based Analysis
| Actor | Social media accounts from Nepal are bombarding social media with fake news on MCC. |
| Behavior | Misleading social media posts and YouTube videos are posted to spread disinformation and create chaos in public. |
| Content | Social media posts, YouTube videos, doctored photos, false headlines, pictures with misleading captions are posted. |
| Degree | Fake news really speeds up the course of polarization as most social media users don’t check the validness of the data source that they view online prior to sharing it. Disinformation is step-by-step arising as one such threat connected with MCC. |
| Effect | Fabricated and purposefully crafted data is being introduced in the guise of genuine news. Such news has been broadly viewed as a powerful instrument of pursuing an unethical war against MCC. Social media users quite often accept that the disinformation on MCC Compact mirror the genuine ground, which leads to anarchy, country wide protests and chaos. |
| Analysis | Dynamic spread of disinformation uses with dubious sources, planned to deceive, misinform and spread propaganda create hoax and restlessness. The vast majority of the false claim has been made on Facebook making it challenging to recognize the fake news and genuine for common social media users. |