Image said to be related to current fighting in DRC is from 1994
Photo was taken in Zaire and not DRC
CLAIM
A photo was shared on X of a young child crying while standing next to a seemingly lifeless body. The photo was posted with hashtags and a caption claiming that the image is related to the current violence and unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
BACKGROUND
Deadly fighting erupted in the city of Goma in North Kivu province between the Congolese army and the M23 rebel group, which had been advancing in the region.
According to reports, at least 100 people were killed and 1,000 were wounded in three days of heavy fighting in the province in eastern DRC. The violence sent thousands fleeing the city, and the unrest spread to the capital, Kinshasa, on January 28, amid growing anger over the rebel offensive.
The photo was shared to an account on X which mentions revolution, insurrection, and insurgency in both its name and description.
The photo was posted with a caption reading “SADDEST PHOTO ON THE INTERNET TODAY! Congo needs our prayers & support” as well as these hashtags #Congo #Africa #Goma.
The photo appears to be very grainy, indicating that it could be old.
METHOD
Google is a very powerful tool to look for older versions of any given image. It can be found on the right side of the Google search bar.
The search using Lens brought up several results, with some dating back eight and 13 years, so we could quickly establish that the photo is unrelated to the current crisis in DRC.
One of the results was from Getty Images, which we decided to look at as it could likely help us track precisely where and when the photo was taken.
Taking a closer look, we can see that the photo is dated as taken on January 1, 1994, and uploaded to Getty Images in 2016.
The caption says the image shows a Rwandan boy crying over the body of his father, who had succumbed to cholera in a refugee camp in Zaire.
Based on this analysis, we can conclude that the image has no relation to the current situation in DRC but is from the start of 1994 when tens of thousands of people had fled Rwanda in the months leading up to the genocide in the country from April to July that year.
RATING
The photo is misrepresented as it does not depict a scene from the current crisis in DRC but was taken in Zaire in 1994.
SOURCES
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: https://x.com/RevoltMankuyio/status/1884540627846627536 [Accessed 29 Jan. 2025].
Getty images (2016). A Rwandan boy cries over the dead body of his father, who has just… [online] Getty Images. Available at: https://www.gettyimages.ch/detail/nachrichtenfoto/rwandan-boy-cries-over-the-dead-body-of-his-father-who-nachrichtenfoto/635232417 [Accessed 29 Jan. 2025].
George Washington University Gwu.edu. (2017). The Rwandan Refugee Crisis: Before the Genocide. [online] Available at: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB464/ [Accessed 29 Jan. 2025].