Claim
The Patriotic Front (PF) Facebook Page published an article on 3rd November 2021 claiming that Kabwata Constituency Member of Parliament, Honorable Levy Mkandawire had died. The PF Facebook page based its claim on unknown reports.
Rating Justification
The Fact Checking Process has determined as false the claim that Hon. Levy Mkandawire had died on 3rd November 2021 after a short illness.
United Party for National Development (UPND) Information and Publicity Secretary for Kabwata Constituency, Mainda Simataa released a Press Statement during the late hours of 3rd November 2021 stating that Hon. Mkandawire was alive and in good health. According to the statement, articles published on various Facebook pages about Hon. Mkandawire’s purported death were not true as the Member of Parliament had confirmed through a phone call that he was alive and had not been ill.
In addition, the UPND official Facebook page published an audio recording with Hon. Mkandawire’s picture as proof that the MP was alive. In the audio, Hon. Mkandawire introduces himself and explains that the information circulating on social media about his death was fake news.
As part of its verification process, the iVerify Team had a phone interview with Hon. Levy M’kandawire who explained that when the fake news was published on the PF Facebook Page, he received a lot of calls about the story. He said the news disturbed him as he did not understand why a media house would create such fake news that has a negative impact on his life, family, and career. He urged media houses to verify information and avoid publishing falsehoods because these have serious negative impacts on people affected. He added that he had since reported the matter to the police because the news published was malicious.
False
