Claim: A Facebook account operating as the Department of Small and Medium Enterprises Development-Zimbabwe posted a notice calling on entrepreneurs seeking financial support to apply for grants through its department.

Is this true or false?

Verdict: False

The Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development  has dismissed the above claim as false, attributing it to criminal elements who were running a fake Facebook page.       

The ministry issued a statement  on its social media platforms warning the public to be wary of being scammed.

How to verify social media accounts

  • Find out who is posting on the platform
  • If it purports to be a ministry page, find out if it is the official account. It is usually linked to that particular ministry’s website or other social media platforms.
  • Inspect the timeline to investigate whether the user has a track record of posting factual and reliable information.
  • Try to understand the context within which a post was made.
  • Verify date and time stamp.
  • Check out the followers
  • Find out if the page was setup as a parody account to share jokes
  • Find out what other pages or media platforms say about the issues raised in the post
  • Lookout for obvious errors in the post
  • In some cases, one can get a clue in the comments section
  • Check if the URL in the post works