News and statements
SATIRE: This video showing snowfall in Somalia’s Garowe Town is fake
This Facebook post with a video claiming to show the first snowfall in Garowe, the administrative capital of Somalia’s Puntland regional state, is SATIRICAL. The clip shared on 13 June 2025 shows a...
Partly false: Image of assaulted gay person isn’t from Lesotho
A viral Facebook post claiming a carpenter in Mafeteng, Lesotho, assaulted a gay man over a forced sexual interaction is FALSE. Our investigation reveals the victim was actually attacked in Umlazi, Durban, South Africa, by a stranger, for being perceived as gay…
Fact Check: Viral Video of ‘Lesotho Citizens Fleeing to South Africa’ Is Actually LDF Recruitment Footage
Within hours, the post had been shared over 500 times, stoking fears of a humanitarian crisis on a South African doorstep. However, the footage actually depicts Basotho youth queuing for LDF recruitment interviews at Makoanyane Barracks on 31 May 2025, not a border crossing.
Fact-check: Is homosexuality a learned behaviour?
“no one is born gay or lesbian.”
Fact Check: Parliament Isn’t Criminalizing Monogamy in 2026
A Facebook post alleges that Lesotho’s Parliament is working on passing a law in 2026 making it a crime for a man to have only one wife. On 31 March 2025, a Facebook user (14K followers) shared in a Facebook group (327.1K members) that Parliament is outlawing monogamous marriage from 2026. The post […]
The Role of Media in Democracy: A Lesotho Case Study
In a healthy democracy, access to information is crucial as it empowers individuals to make informed decisions about political, social, and economic issues.
Lesotho Takes a Step Towards Inclusive Governance with Public Participation Bill
This Bill seeks to establish a legal framework to ensure that Basotho are not only informed about decisions that affect them, but are actively involved in making them.
MISSING CONTEXT: Climate is more complex than just ‘average weather’
Climate is a long-term, science-backed phenomenon with many variables.
Fact-check: Does the Aphelion cold spell trigger flu and breathing problems?
Viruses and indoor crowding, not cosmic mechanics, explain why colds peak in winter.