Kenya: Male Prostitution Ring Run By Son of Kenyan President-Elect Ruto? No, Newspaper Front Page Fake

23 August 2022
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Dancan Bwire

"Gay affairs ring, Redhouse boss and Nick Ruto," reads the headline on what appears to be the front page of the Standard, a Kenyan newspaper, circulating on Facebook.

The page shows a photo of Kenyan president-elect William Ruto's son Nick Ruto with Koome Mwambia, CEO of the marketing firm Redhouse Group.

Text below reads: "Exposed. A male prostitution ring allegedly run by Koome Mwambia and the DP's son is under investigation."

A story about president Uhuru Kenyatta appears on the right. The paper is dated 1 August 2022.

The front page has been posted here, here, here and here on Facebook.

But is it legit? We checked.

Front page fake

We found the original front page of the Standard's 1 August issue on the Standard Group website. It's different.

The headline is: "Numbers that show the huge task for IEBC." The summary adds: "Countdown. With seven days to elections, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has the critical duty to deliver a credible poll. The logistical enormity is unprecedented."

There is no photo or article about Ruto's son or Mwambia but the story on president Kenyatta on the right is the same.

On 17 August, the Standard posted the altered front page on Facebook, stamped "FAKE NEWS".

"FAKE NEWS ALERT: This is NOT a genuine cover of the Standard newspaper. It is a manipulated front page," the paper says in the post.

The front page has been altered.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

Tagged:
Copyright © 2022 Africa Check. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.