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A video showing a man being attacked by a group of people on a street in Paris has been widely circulated on social media.
The video shows a group of people who were chanting in French and Wolof, a local language in Senegal, physically attacking a man wearing a blue kaftan. His assailants pushed him to the ground and assaulted him before others intervened.
A tweet accompanying the video reads “A Senegalese Minister is beaten up in France by Senegalese living in France for poor governance and bad policies back home in Senegal. Is this the way to go?”
A Senegalese Minister is beaten up in France by Senegalese living in France for poor governance and bad policies back home in Senegal. Is this the way to go? pic.twitter.com/M7ofizCGZl
— Jeje Odea 🇺🇬 (@joshjeje2) June 26, 2023
It had at the time of fact-checking this claim received over four million views with over 8,000 retweets and over 3,000 quotes.
Several other accounts on Twitter had also shared the same video with the same claims (here and here,). The video has also been shared on Facebook as well. But is the man in question a Senegalese minister as claimed?
Some of those who commented on the tweets suggested that the assault was a sign that African youth were holding their leaders accountable.
Fact-Check Ghana has verified this claim and presents the details.
Claim: “A Senegalese minister has been attacked in a video by Senegalese living in France over allegations of poor governance back home in the West African country.”
Verdict: False
Explanation: A much longer version of the viral video which included scenes before and after the attack clearly showed the supposed minister’s face. To identify him, Fact-Check Ghana took a screenshot of his face and ran it through Pimeye’s reverse search. The result showed that the man in the viral video is not a Senegalese Minister, but rather a musician known as Demba Ndiaye.
Fact-Check Ghana also did an online search of his name and found a number of his music videos which also confirmed Ndilaan’s identity.
AFP did a Fact-check in French in which it contacted Ndilaan.
Demba Ndiaye Ndillaan confirmed to AFP that he was the one attacked in the viral video. He said he was to perform at the diplomatic compound in Paris on June 22, 2023, where the Senegalese president, Macky Sall, was also to attend alongside many other heads of state but was unable to access the venue due to the strong crowd.
However, when he turned away, he said he saw a crowd shouting ” Down with Macky Sall! ” “To death, Macky Sall! ”
According to the Senegalese musician, his attackers sprinkled a ” toxic liquid ” on his eyes. He said the fight started when a young man “put both hands violently ” on his chest to strangle him, causing him to defend himself.
In the viral video of the attack, a voice keeps repeating in French “Stop this. It’s enough. It’s enough. He was the first to give the first blow. I filmed it. I was here. How dare he give the first blow. It’s amazing that he has the audacity of giving the first blow.”
From the evidence above, it is, therefore, not true that the man attacked in the video was a Senegalese Minister.
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