werepeLeri: How can you say that the story that more Muslims had been killed than Christians is true? You relied on a statistics that is not even part of the topic - yet you called Banky W's Fashola to be inconclusive because the interview didn't form part of the topic.

Where is the statistics?

exactly my thoughts. Where is the statistics in the original story as posited by hon ningi? And yet u accepted it as genuine. For goodness sake, Ningi could have said rubbish to suit himself, and yet u accepted it without verification and even went ahead to rate it true. The response so far on this thread shows that u the OP should not be taken serious.

FRONT PAGE FACT CHECK FOR 28 JUNE, 2012


* Ibori's Mistress Released From UK Prison
https://www.nairaland.com/976355/iboris-mistress-released-uk-prison
Rating: TRUE
The source of this story was given as Odili.net. But it is originally a Punch Newspaper
story. See here: http://www.punchng.com/news/iboris-mistress-released-from-uk-prison/


* Otedola/Lawan $620K Bribery Scandal Probe Hits Dead End
https://www.nairaland.com/976425/otedola-lawan-620k-bribery-scandal
Rating: TRUE
This a Punch Newspaper story. We rated it as true because members of the Committee on Fuel
Subsidy who are vital to the investigation refused to honour an invitation to appear before
the Police.


SERAP Gives Jonathan 7-day Ultimatum To Declare Assets
https://www.nairaland.com/976318/serap-gives-jonathan-7-day-ultimatum
Rating: TRUE
SERAP stands for Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project. It is highly unlikey
that GEJ will comply with their request within the 7 day ultimatum. They have threatened
to take him to court thereafter.


* Happy 49th Birthday To Governor Fashola
https://www.nairaland.com/976506/happy-birthday-governor-babatunde-fashola
Rating: TRUE
According to Wikipedia.org, Governor Fashola was born on June 28, 1963. So he is 49 today.


* Picture Of GEJ On His Knees Praying For Nigeria
https://www.nairaland.com/976439/picture-goodluck-jonathan-knees-praying
Rating: INCONCLUSIVE
This post contained a still photo of GEJ in a prayerful pose. Since it is a still photo,
there is no way to discern what he is praying for. As a commenter named ObamaUS rightly
noted and I quote "What if he's saying "GOD PLS I WILL [BE] TRAVELING TO MEXICO TOMORROW, ...PLS PROTECT ME AND MY WIFE FROM PLANE CRASH..."


* Pictures Of Flooded Areas In Imo State
https://www.nairaland.com/976589/pictures-flooded-areas-imo-state
Rating: TRUE
This story originated from HintsOnlineMagazie (http://www.hintsonlinemagazine.com/)
It is currently on the front page of their website


* Pictures Of Dire Situation At Radio Nigeria Abuja National Station
https://www.nairaland.com/976361/save-souls-radio-nigeria-abuja
Rating: INCONCLUSIVE
This thread was started by a poster named Shaibu Liar (Did you get that: Liar). He became
a registered user just yesterday. Some of the pictures he posted to support his allegation
seem suspicious. For instance, he posted pictures of what seems like a modern radio station
with modern equipment and several air conditioners. Then he wants us to believe that this
same station uses an un-finished, external pit toilet. So we have to rate his story as
"Inconclusive".

To be Continued.

@Bizbooks, when you are criticized by Awo apologists and Ironsi apologists alike, you should be proud and know that you are on to something beautiful.

@BizBooks, While on the face of it, this thread and it's objectives seem commendable, i have since found that it's results are totally of little or no value at all in terms of credibility. your methods are completely inconsistent, they are undefined, and one can only infer what your mind-set is when you pass judgements of TRUE, FALSE & INCONCLUSIVE. I will post my reasons as follow-ups.

BizBooks: * Pictures Of Banky W Interviewing Fashola
https://www.nairaland.com/975880/banky-w-interviews-governor-fashola
Rating: Partially TRUE
While this story showed several pictures of Banky W with Gov Fashola, we rated it as
"Partially TRUE" because it said nothing about the interview or it's subject. Banky W may
have simply paid a courtesy visit to the governor for all we know.

from your own findings, we know that these are mere pictures of Banky-W and Fashola, We have no idea what on earth they are talking about or what the occasion is. In-fact it could be anything(Fashola might be inviting Banky-W to perform at his birthday party). We know absolutely nothing! yet you have judged it as PARTIALLY TRUE(Banky W Interviewing Fashola)

BizBooks: * OBJ's New Job: Adviser To New World Oil & Gas plc In London
https://www.nairaland.com/976012/obj-adviser-new-world-oil
Rating: INCONCLUSIVE
We cannot confirm that this story is true though it may be. It is a PM News story. On their
website, they cited The Guardian of London as the source of the story without providing a
link to the source at The Guardian.

is a legal entity, registered and bound by the laws of the Corporate Affairs Commission, therefore it meets all the requirements of a referrence source, it can be sued with regard to this story because this can be used as evidence that it legally owns & published this story. So why on earth would you rate the story as INCONCLUSIVE

Now this calls to mind, what exactly are you verifying? Are you questioning whether a story was indeed published by a credibly entitled source (eg: a newspaper, corporate body, individual, Govt, etc) or you are questioning the facts or statistics of the contents of such story? See why your venture is inconsistent & unreliable?

BizBooks: *TF Kills 17 Gunmen & Defuse Bombs In Kano
https://www.nairaland.com/976160/jtf-kills-17-gunmen-defuse
Rating: TRUE
We rated this story as true because the figures were provided by the Kano State Police
Commissioner, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris.

No, the figures where provided by www.leadership.ng, and they are simply quoting or referencing Alhaji Ibrahim Idris. You need to give people a proper perspective to a story.

BizBooks: * Corpers Posted To Borno, Yobe To Have Orientation In Adamawa
https://www.nairaland.com/974776/nysc-batch-b-2012-b.r.e.a.k.i.n.g
Rating: TRUE
A visit to the NYSC website (http://www.nysc.gov.ng/) confirmed it. But we must
add that the NYSC website appears grossly sub-standard.

What on earth does the quality of NYSC website have to do with a news-story? you are simply loosing perspective & causing a distraction. Even if their website is "grossly sub-standard", pls do tell us: by what standards have you evaluated it, is it an industry standard? a scientific standard? regulatory standard? what

okeyxyz:
So why on earth would you rate the story as INCONCLUSIVE

As I stated previously, rating a story "inconclusive" does not mean it is false. All it means
is that I do not have enough evidence to prove it is true or false. What you can do is
provide evidence that will cause a reasonable person to believe that such a story is
unambiguously true or false.

BizBooks:

As I stated previously, rating a story "inconclusive" does not mean it is false. All it means
is that I do not have enough evidence to prove it is true or false. What you can do is
provide evidence that will cause a reasonable person to believe that such a story is
unambiguously true or false.

like i said, is a legal entity, properly approved to own & publish news, so you have no basis to say the story is inconclusive. is empowered with that credibility & can therefore be held responsible for any outcomes of such story. if you doubt the truth of the contents of the story, then it's up to you to provide proper third-party evidence that such story is unreliable.

BizBooks: * Boko Haram Killed More Muslims – Ningi: Do You Agree?
https://www.nairaland.com/975670/boko-haram-killed-more-muslims
Rating: TRUE
We rated this story as true because the deputy Senate Majority Leader
Abdul Ningi did say the following: “...statistics on the ground shows that more Muslims
have been killed in the attacks by the sect than the Christians?” We did not check whether
that statistics is true.

The deputy senate majority leader should not be your reference and basis for rating this story, you have not personally interviewed or heard him say so. the correct reference is www.punchng.com, they have the responsibilty to quote & reference the senator, since they conducted such interview or were present when such statistics were presented.

okeyxyz:

like i said, is a legal entity, properly approved to own & publish news, so you have no basis to say the story is inconclusive. is empowered with that credibility & can therefore be held responsible for any outcomes of such story. if you doubt the truth of the contents of the story, then it's up to you to provide proper third-party evidence that such story is unreliable.

PM News referenced The Guardian of London as the source of their information without
providing a link to the source. Now if you wish to verify the story from the source, what
do you do? Do you go to the Guardian and start search through hundreds if not thousands of
web pages? In cases like this, it is imperative that we get the information from the original
source with no 3rd party filters.

@okeyxyz,

Now I get it. Your intention is to challenge every single thing I said. In that case, I give
up.

BizBooks: * Awolowo’s Letter From Prison To Aguiyi Ironsi
https://www.nairaland.com/975707/obafemi-awolowo-letter-prison-dated
Rating: INCONCLUSIVE
The poster referenced "My March Through Prison", a book written by Chief Awolowo as the
source of this story. Since the events in the story happened in the 1960s and since most
of the major actors are no longer alive to corroborate the points in dispute, we are unable
to rate this story as true.

You are not in a position(neither are you supposed to) rate the authenticity of the contents of this story. you are supposed to verify whether such a story is published as stated and whether such a publication is owned by awolowo whom it is attributed to. simples!!

BizBooks: @okeyxyz,
Now I get it. Your intention is to challenge every single thing I said. In that case, I give
up.

No, my intention is to make you more responsible, people are already coming on this thread to commend & support your actions. I believe your methods are not well thought of, and therefore misleading.

Very nice thread. This is how we should start thinking in Nigeria.

BizBooks:

PM News referenced The Guardian of London as the source of their information without
providing a link to the source. Now if you wish to verify the story from the source, what
do you do? Do you go to the Guardian and start search through hundreds if not thousands of
web pages? In cases like this, it is imperative that we get the information from the original
source with no 3rd party filters.

PM News does not need to give you a link to the Guardian of London(though a link would help), is an authority on news, if you doubt the credibility of , then please say so and provide support for your assertions.

BizBooks:

I have no reason to be biased especially when it relates to Chief Awolowo. I'm a long term
admirer of the Unity Party of Nigeria. During the 2nd republic, people in my area voted NPP
in local elections and UPN in Presidential elections.

Last but not the least, the bolded is not important, infact it can undermine the objectivity of the whole effort. your admirations or otherwise or your political leanings should not feature in this debate, thus it dosen't help your position.

The poster is just a joker.He is even too lazy to conduct a research before passing judgements.This thread should be closed

okeyxyz:

Last but not the least, the bolded is not important, infact it can undermine the objectivity of the whole effort. your admirations or otherwise or your political leanings should not feature in this debate, thus it dosen't help your position.

As an avowed admirer of Chief Awolowo, I think that refusing to take him at his word shows
some objectivity. It would have been easier for me to rule in his favour.

BizBooks:

As an avowed admirer of Chief Awolowo, I think that refusing to take him at his word shows
some objectivity. It would have been easier for me to rule in his favour.

True! I give you that. But your assertions are still very subjective, because we have no way of knowing whether you are yoruba or not. If for eg: it can be shown that you are indeed yoruba, then i'd be forced to listen to you more, in the belief that there's something else (perhaps truth?) that inspires your position on Awo.

okeyxyz:
If for eg: it can be shown that you are indeed yoruba, then i'd be forced to listen to you more, in the belief that there's something else (perhaps truth?) that inspires your position on Awo.

No, I'm not Yoruba. But I'm where I am today because of the benevolence of a Yoruba man.

Your rating as "true" Ningi's claim that more muslims have been killed than christians is a complete fallacy. Where is the statistics you are talking about I beg to strongly disagree with you on this one.

This is a very nice thread. Hopefully, if the op takes on board some of the criticism and we have more reviewers/fact checkers, the thread will grow.

It's not easy being a leader. You've got to be prepared for strong criticism. Sometimes, the critics get to be leaders and discover that the job is not as easy as they thought it was. Much respect to Mukina2.

I must also state that it's not everything that can be "fact checked". Opinions are free and welcome on nairaland.

Op, on the Abdul Ningi issue, are you saying that it's true he made that statement, or that it's true that more muslims than christians have been killed by Boko Haram?


(Ps. May I suggest that, in your opening post, you state the standards/parameters with which you judge whether a post is true, false, or inconclusive).

naptu2: This is a very nice thread. Hopefully, if the op takes on board some of the criticism and we have more reviewers/fact checkers, the thread will grow.

It's not easy being a leader. You've got to be prepared for strong criticism. Sometimes, the critics get to be leaders and discover that the job is not as easy as they thought it was. Much respect to Mukina2.

I must also state that it's not everything that can be "fact checked". Opinions are free and welcome on nairaland.

Op, on the Abdul Ningi issue, are you saying that it's true he made that statement, or that it's true that more muslims than christians have been killed by Boko Haram?


(Ps. May I suggest that, in your opening post, you state the standards/parameters with which you judge whether a post is true, false, or inconclusive).

Exactly!

FRONT PAGE FACT CHECK FOR JUNE 28, 2012 CONTINUED:


* Married Woman Dies During Intimacy With Married Lover
https://www.nairaland.com/977161/married-woman-dies-during-intimacy
Rating: TRUE


* Coke And Pepsi Contain ALCOHOL, - French Research
https://www.nairaland.com/976953/coke-pepsi-contain-alcohol-french
Rating: TRUE
While this story is true it must be noted that the level of alcohol in question is minute -
approximately 0.001% of alcohol per litre.


* Police To Question Pastor Bakare Over 'To Bankrupt Nigeria' Sermon
https://www.nairaland.com/976935/bankrupt-nigeria-sermon-police-looking
Rating: TRUE
Although this is a SaharaReporters story, we were able to find it at other news outlets.


* US Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare
https://www.nairaland.com/976955/us-supreme-court-upholds-obamacare
Rating: TRUE
Nobody expected this to happen but it did. Obamacare is the nickname given to the
Affordable Health Care Act passed by Obama and the Democrats in 2010.


* Gunmen Kill Rivers ANPP Chairman
https://www.nairaland.com/976478/gunmen-kill-rivers-anpp-chairman
Rating: TRUE
Source: Vanguard Newspapers


* OBJ Wants Bribe Givers & Takers To Be Punished
https://www.nairaland.com/976728/obj-wants-bribe-givers-takers
Rating: TRUE
While this story is true, the poster through his topic title gave the impression that OBJ
was talking about bribe givers and takers in general. In actual fact, he was talking about
the Lawan/Otedola bribery scandal in particular. If you visit the source of the story, the
title clearly states: Obasanjo Says in London 'Punish the Bribe Taker (Lawan) and Giver
(Otedola)'. The original article is at this link:
http://www.naijapundit.com/news/obasanjo-says-in-london-punish-the-bribe-taker-lawan-and-giver-otedola


* Nigerians Are Battered Souls & Broken Spirits - Professor Ayittey
https://www.nairaland.com/976272/nigerians-battered-souls-broken-spirits
Rating: TRUE
This story originated from SaharaReporters. Due to their reputation, I would have rated it
"Inconclusive" if they did not indicate their source. But they provided concise details on
how to get to the source including the date it was published. The material as originally
published by Prof Ayittey is available here: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/i1aoug


* VP Sambo's Convoy Defies Traffic Rules In Abuja
https://www.nairaland.com/976603/vp-sambos-convoy-defies-traffic
Rating: Partially TRUE
In the first paragraph of this story, the author wrote "A presidential convoy, believed to
be carrying Vice-President Namadi Sambo...". So he is clearly not sure VP Sambo was in the
convoy. Further down the article, he wrote "Mr. [Paul] Ibe later updated his post saying
he had confirmed Mr. Sambo was on the convoy". The author did not explain who Paul Ibe is
or who he works for except that he is a "journalist".


* Arsenal Announce Partnership With Airtel
https://www.nairaland.com/976721/arsenal-announce-partnership-airtel
Rating: TRUE
This partnership is not universal. It covers five African countries namely Nigeria,
Zambia, Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda


* 31,556 Foreigners Denied Entry Into Nigeria
[url]https://www.nairaland.com/976811/31%2C556-foreigners-denied-entry-into[/url]
Rating: TRUE

naptu2:
Op, on the Abdul Ningi issue, are you saying that it's true he made that statement, or that it's true that more muslims than christians have been killed by Boko Haram?

Since Abdul Ningi's assertion that Boko Haram has killed more Muslims than Christians
has generated so much reaction, let me add the following: Boko Haram started attacking
churches in 2011 but they have been active in the north since 2009 especially after the
death of their leader. According to Wikipedia,

The 2009 Boko Haram Uprising was a conflict between Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group
and Nigerian security forces. Violence across several states in northeastern Nigeria left
over 1,000 dead, with around 700 killed in the city of Maiduguri alone, according to one
military official.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Nigeria_religious_violence

So if 700 people were killed in Maiduguri in 2009 alone, it is reasonable to assume that a
majority of them were Muslims.

BizBooks:

Since Abdul Ningi's assertion that Boko Haram has killed more Muslims than Christians
has generated so much reaction, let me add the following: Boko Haram started attacking
churches in 2011 but they have been active in the north since 2009 especially after the
death of their leader. According to Wikipedia,



So if 700 people were killed in Maiduguri in 2009 alone, it is reasonable to assume that a
majority of them were Muslims.

I also suspect that Boko Haram has killed more muslims than christians, but I thought that you would limit yourself to verifying if ABdul Ningi actually made that statement, since it would be difficult to verify the number of christians and muslims that have been killed by the sect.

Boko Haram was founded in 2002. It came to the attention of the security agencies around 2003. In 2005 they launched attacks against the police and members of the sect were arrested. However, the courts granted them bail. When Boko Haram relaunched their violent attacks in 2009, members of the security forces were infuriated that members of the sect, who had killed their colleagues, had been granted bail and were able to resume attacks. Some policemen decided that it was better to kill members of the sect, than to charge them to court, since they might be bailed again. This led to an escalation of the crisis.

However, Boko Haram has carried out attacks against muslim clerics and local people who disagree with its ideology. Most of these are muslim.

naptu2:
I also suspect that Boko Haram has killed more muslims than christians, but I thought that you would limit yourself to verifying if ABdul Ningi actually made that statement, since it would be difficult to verify the number of christians and muslims that have been killed by the sect...

Apart from calling Abdul Ningi, there is no way for me to verify if he said that or not. I
was relying on the reporting of the newspaper which I assume to be credible. If they had
quoted him as saying "Boko Haram has killed more Jews than Christians", that would have
raised a red flag. But they quoted him as saying something that made sense to me if not to
others.

how about putting a tag, or a stamp, like the 'thread closed' stamp on each thread, to show its rating

Since we started this fact-check thread, the moderators have been doing a good job of
preventing bogus stories from getting to the front page. That in effect rendered this thread
redundant since there is no point in fact-checking the front page if the stories are mostly
true. But today, we have this:

* Picture Of Bugatti Veyron In Abuja
https://www.nairaland.com/979315/picture-bugatti-veyron-abuja
Rating: Probably False

The last time a poster claimed to have seen a Bugatti Veyron in Lagos, it turned out the
picture was taken in India. This picture too was probably taken somewhere else. If you look
closely, you will notice that the poster covered the rear plate number. There is no reason
to cover that if the picture is authentic.

Update: The poster claimed to have seen this car on July 1, 2012. Here's his exact
quote "Just driving in Abuja now and right in front of me a bugatti!". But the same
picture he posted here was posted on Twitter by a user named @DarkKnighttwits on June 29,
2012. The picture can be seen at the link below:

[url]https://twitter.com/#!/DarkKnighttwits/media/slideshow?url=http%3A%2F%2Flockerz.com%2Fs%2F220879745[/url]