IN SHORT: Fake news articles are increasingly circulating on Kenyan social media platforms. One example is an article claiming that Kenya is the only African country to have repaid its Eurobond debt.
A screenshot of what appears to be a Bloomberg News article has been circulating on social media platforms in Kenya. It is headlined: “Kenya, only African country to pay Eurobond.”
Kenya issued a US$2 billion Eurobond in June 2014 to supplement its public spending. A Eurobond is a loan given out in a currency that is different to the currency of the country in which it is issued.
In February 2024, Kenya’s treasury bought back $1.5 billion of the outstanding $2 billion, using funds raised from a new bond issue to partially settle the 2014 debt.
The article in the circulating screenshot is dated 15 April 2024 and is supposedly authored by Jason Schreier, a tech reporter at Bloomberg News. The article’s strapline reads: “Ghana, Malawi, Ethiopia, Zambia, all defaulted on foreign loans.”
Bloomberg, headquartered in New York City in the US, is a well-reputed financial, software, data and media company. An article from the agency would therefore be considered authoritative.
The post has also been shared on X (formerly Twitter) here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Article fake, not published by Bloomberg
Africa Check searched the phrase “Kenya, only African country to pay Eurobond” on the Bloomberg News website and came up empty.
The publication’s website describes Schreier as a reporter covering “video games, business, culture, labour, delays and other aspects related to the gaming world”. It is therefore unlikely he would write about developments in the Kenyan financial investments sector.
Additionally, there has been no credible media coverage of the claim that Kenya is the only African country to have repaid its Eurobond debt, an indication that the information is false.
The article was not published by Bloomberg and is not to be trusted.
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