Weeks after DUBAWA published a fact-check about a misleading statement attributed to Riley Moore, Facebook users have removed the claims.
The inflammatory claim sparked heated ethno-religious debates across the country, as findings revealed that many believed Moore made the statement.
The controversy began in mid-January 2026, when a video of Moore addressing Congress circulated with deceptive captions. A Facebook page called Dandolla was among the first to share the footage.
The claim alleged that the American lawmaker intended to advise Donald Trump to push for Nigeria’s partition as a solution to the insecurity facing Christian communities. By Jan. 19, 2026, the post had garnered over 17,000 views, hundreds of reactions, and numerous bookmarks.
DUBAWA used its AI-powered audio tool to transcribe the clip and understand the entire context. The investigation confirmed that Moore expressed grave concerns regarding the safety of Nigerian Christians.
However, he never mentioned the division of the country. Moore’s actual statement focused on providing the White House with “a series of options to help protect our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
DUBAWA also found the original footage from a hearing held by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Jan. 15, 2026.
The full nine-minute recording confirmed that Moore’s proposed policy options were diplomatic and humanitarian, with no reference to territorial restructuring or the dissolution of the Nigerian state.
Weeks after the fact-check’s publication, we observed that some sources of the misinformation could no longer be found. Dandolla’s original post was deleted by the page administrators. Several other users who had reshared the video followed suit, removing their posts.
We also found Grok, an AI-powered assistant on X, referencing DUBAWA’s fact-check to verify the viral claim in response to a user’s request. It is not the first time the AI-powered assistant has referenced DUBAWA’s fact-check or analysis to verify a claim on X. For instance, the tool cited DUBAWA’s 2022 investigation of a recirculated claim that three Nigerian men had disguised themselves as women while migrating illegally to Dubai.
The removals curbed a narrative threatening to split the national conversation on security and sovereignty. This is part of DUBAWA’s success story in combating misinformation and disinformation across various social media platforms.
Source: Facebook users take down false posts of Nigeria’s division after DUBAWA’s fact-check – Dubawa
