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Misinformation about Africa has multiplied since Donald Trump's return to the White House, including on the continent. Researchers observe a "radical shift" in online media driven by geopolitical unrest and mistrust.
Here are some examples from three major African countries in recent weeks, some of which were unraveled by AFP Fact Check.
South Africa has been criticized by the new US administration on a range of issues, including the recent enactment of an expropriation law.
"South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY," Donald Trump attacked on social media in February.
But experts and analysts say no land has been confiscated, and the law states that the government must pay "fair" compensation for any expropriation of property.
Washington's offer to provide a "safe haven" for Afrikaners, descendants of South Africa's first European settlers, then resurrected the myth of white genocide, which Donald Trump had revived during his first term by referring to "large-scale murders of farmers" as early as 2018.
Viral social media posts falsely claimed that 60 white farmers were being killed every day. Others claimed that more than 4,000 had been murdered in the past six years.
But figures from both farmers' and Afrikaner advocacy groups indicate that around 50 people of all racial categories are killed on farms each year.
Nearly 3,000 victims were killed on farms in the 30 years to 2024, for example, the Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa has counted.
Among the more than 19,000 murders committed in the country between January and September 2024, most of the victims were young Black men in urban areas, according to police.
Trump's remarks are "irresponsible," said South African political analyst Gideon Chitanga, noting that land ownership is a historically contentious issue.
"This type of propaganda can actually incite black people to attack white people, or it can enrage white people," he explains.
"Trump feeds into existing stereotypes, and people aren't necessarily interested in the truth as long as it fits their political expectations," says Trust Matsilele, a senior lecturer in journalism at Birmingham City University.
In Nigeria, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) independence movement, whose supporters produce artificial intelligence-generated content to boost their campaign, claimed to have the support of Donald Trump.
A manipulated video showed the US president expressing his support for the group, whose founder is being prosecuted for treason. Other publications shared an AI-generated video that purported to show Finnish President Alexander Stubb also pledging his support.
Lanre Olagunju, a fact-checker and editor-in-chief of CheckClimate.Africa, believes that Donald Trump's influence "is spreading through political discourse and emboldening leaders who use disinformation as a tool of control."
Other government critics have taken advantage of the new administration's deep cuts in foreign aid to post messages inflating Nigeria's HIV/AIDS rate.
The rise in disinformation in Kenya has targeted the country's internal political divisions, which regularly spark violence during elections.
For example, a doctored TikTok video claimed that former Vice President Rigathi Gachagua, impeached last year and a rival of President William Ruto, attended Trump's inauguration in January.
Other false claims suggested that Kenya had left the World Health Organization after Trump's decision to leave the WHO. These were based on an old video linked to a doctor known for spreading health misinformation.
Odanga Madung, a researcher specializing in disinformation, points out that Donald Trump's return has reinforced far-right conspiracy theories around the world.
"Meta's demonization of fact-checkers and executive orders cutting critical programs like USAID have fundamentally altered people's ability to filter out misinformation," he said.
As the 2027 presidential election approaches, Nyakerario Omari, a disinformation expert at Code for Africa, sees this new context as an additional challenge for Kenyan media, which already faces censorship and political pressure.
According to him, "online attacks against the media are likely to increase, especially with the rise of online politics."
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