By Nicole Tau
A viral video claiming that His Majesty King Letsie III has endorsed a government-backed investment platform guaranteeing a weekly income of LSL 19,320 is a SCAM.
Investigations by CheckDesk, a fact-checking platform at MISA Lesotho, reveal the video to be a sophisticated fabrication and the associated ‘investment platform’ a fraudulent marketing funnel designed to steal personal data from the public.
The video, which gained traction on Facebook and WhatsApp from August 13, 2025, was presented as a “LIVE” news interview. The manipulated clip uses a “BREAKING NEWS” banner and the logo of the reputable Lesotho Times newspaper to create a false sense of legitimacy.
The original Facebook post on a page named “Arn Shop” garnered over 225 reactions and 19 shares. Analysis of the scam’s associated link confirms it is being amplified through a paid Facebook advertising campaign, indicating a deliberate and wide-reaching effort to defraud the public.
To ascertain the claim’s authenticity, CheckDesk contacted multiple official sources, all of whom confirmed the investment scheme is fraudulent.
The Office of His Majesty the King issued a statement directly refuting the claim, stating it “must have been made by criminals using internet skills and Artificial Intelligence to defraud people.”
This was corroborated by the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS). In a direct confirmation to CheckDesk, Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Mpiti Mopeli, verified that a general warning they issued online was indeed regarding the false claim involving His Majesty.
“Having verified the same information with the Royal Palace, there is no such funding, there’s no such statement made by the King,” Superintendent Mopeli stated. “People should be aware, mindful and watchful of such online scams.”
Furthermore, the Ministry of Technology, Communications, Science, Technology and Innovation, through the office of the Principal Secretary, Mr. Kanono Ramashmole, issued a statement warning the public against such digital fraudulent schemes.
Using hosting discovery services of HostingChechecker and domain information services of WHOIS, our investigation into the provided link for tsnmarketingconsultant.com shows clear signs of a deceptive campaign. A technical analysis found that the domain’s owner is hidden using privacy services, a common practice for illegitimate sites.
Furthermore, the website’s infrastructure and the link itself are built for aggressive marketing, using tracking parameters (like Facebook Pixel, UTM campaign codes) to monitor your activity. This technical evidence is inconsistent with any official or trustworthy source. The content on the page, which promotes video games, is a “bait-and-switch” tactic designed to trick users.
In short, this is not a simple rumor but a coordinated effort to track potential targets and lure them into a scam.
How Scammers Collect and Exploit Your Information
The video is not an authentic interview. Instead, it is a deepfake, built by digitally manipulating genuine footage from His Majesty’s appearance at the Global Family Farming Forum (GFFF), held in Rome from 15–18 October 2024, where he spoke in his capacity as FAO Special Goodwill Ambassador for Nutrition.
Scammers overlaid fake news banners, logos, and scripted claims about investments onto this footage. This form of digital forgery is deeply harmful, as it abuses the King’s image and credibility to trick Basotho citizens into believing they can access quick profits. Beyond the financial losses, such scams erode public trust in the monarchy, the media, and legitimate financial institutions.
This fact-check was produced by Nicole Tau, CheckDesk, MISA Lesotho, as part of the African Fact-Checking Alliance’s (AFCA) incubation programme. It was produced with peer-mentorship from Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, PesaCheck, with financial support from Norway. AFCA mentorship respects the journalistic independence of the researchers, offering access to advanced techniques and tools. Editorial decision-making remains with MISA Lesotho. Want to learn more? Visit: https://factcheck.africa/
