Africans sold to work in mines in the DRC? Be careful of this infox

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Africans sold to work in mines in the DRC Be

On social networks, a video seen more than 16 million times in a few days claims to show dozens of slaves being sold to work in mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Internet user who published it claims that the scene is recent and that it shows “ Africans selling Africans “. Verification completed, it is in reality a naval training in Nigeria.

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The video is impressive. Dozens of individuals immaculate in mud are gathered with their hands in the air, in a hole dug in the ground. Men in blue uniforms and civilian clothes look down on them. Some laugh or sing while others give them orders, sticks in hand. The caption speaks, in English, “ Africans selling Africans in the DRC to work in the mines “. Published on

Please note, this video has been taken out of context.

Except that in reality, these images do not show slaves being sold in the DRC. Our searches on social networks allowed us to find the original video, published on TikTok in June 2023, and located in Badagry, Nigeria. The RFI editorial team in Hausa confirmed to us that we can hear a woman speaking in Yoruba, the official language in Nigeria and spoken in several West African countries.

Naval training in Nigeria

The author of the original publication speaks of a “ day to remember » and identifies the account of the Institute of Transport and Management Technology (ITMT), a maritime study center based in Badagry. By searching for this school and the hashtag #ITMT on social networks, we find several videos taken in the same place and which evoke a rite of passage for young recruits. All these videos are also localized to Nigeria.

This rite of passage was filmed and broadcast on social networks several times.

Analysis of the blue uniforms worn by some in the video, and the clothing worn by the cadets matches outfits worn at the Institute of Transport and Management Technology.

The uniforms of the people visible in the video correspond to those of the ITMT.

These images therefore do not show a sale of slaves in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but simple training in a naval school in Nigeria. This fake news was notably made visible by Alex Jones, a figure of conspiracy and the American extreme right. In August 2022, he was ordered to pay nearly a billion dollars in compensation for defamation and moral damage to the families of victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre in 2012, the reality of which he had denied.



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