Claim: A Facebook account operating as the Ministry of Agriculture Zimbabwe has once again posted a sponsored advert calling on local farmers seeking financial support to apply for grants. The grants are said to be from a collaboration with the International Monetary Fund and the World Food Programme.
Is this true or false?
Verdict: False
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development has dismissed the call for grant applications as imposter content, urging members of the public to follow the Ministry’s official platforms below for any updates.
- Facebook – Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Zim
- Website – agric.gov.zw
- X – @MoLAFWRD_Zim
Many people seem to be falling for this scam page after it reissued this advert at the start of the rainy season on 8 November 2024 to target unsuspecting farmers. The post has so far attracted over 1,500 likes and 300 comments most of which are from people interested in receiving grants.
How to verify social media accounts
- Find out who is posting on the platform.
- If it purports to be a ministry page, find out if it is the official account. It is usually linked to that particular ministry’s website or other social media platforms.
- Inspect the timeline to investigate whether the user has a track record of posting factual and reliable information.
- Try to understand the context within which a post was made.
- Verify date & time stamp.
- Check out the followers.
- Find out if the page was setup as a parody account to share jokes.
- Find out what other pages or media platforms say about the issues raised in the post.
- Lookout for obvious errors in the post.
- In some cases, one can get a clue in the comments section.
- Check if the URL in the post works.
Sources
Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development
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