Doctored newspaper front page falsely claims Tanzania's Habari Leo reported 23,000 civilians killed by police IN SHORT: A Facebook post shared a manipulated front page falsely claiming that police had killed tens of thousands of Tanzanians. The Habari Leo's authentic 6 November 2025 edition carried a completely different headline focused on improvements in public services. A Facebook post has shared what it claims is the cover of Tanzania's state-owned newspaper Habari Leo's 6 November 2025 edition. The front cover has the headline: "WATANZANIA WALIOUAWA KWA KUPIGWA RISASI NA POLISI WAFIKIA 23,000." Habari Leo, published by the government-owned Tanzania Standard Newspapers (TSN), typically covers national news, government activities, development issues and official announcements. The fabricated headline appears designed to exploit heightened political tension. After Tanzania's October 2025 general election, disputes over fairness and transparency sparked unrest. Opposition groups accused police of using excessive force during protests, leading to sporadic clashes and a charged political atmosphere. This front page has also been posted here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of this report.) Given that Habari Leo is state-owned, it is highly unlikely the paper would publish a headline accusing government security forces of killing 23,000 citizens unless the government has officially confirmed this. But no such announcement exists. Habari Leo routinely posts its front pages on its official X and Facebook platforms, and none match the one circulating online. Instead, we found the genuine front page for 6 November 2025, with the headline: "Maisha yarejea." This translates to "Life returns". It was accompanied by a list of public services that the Tanzanian government said had improved. Some individuals shown on the fake cover did die during the 2025 election protests, including Master Tindwa, a popular sports analyst, and Dafroza Jacob, the Alliance for Change and Transparency-Wazalendo candidate for Sirari ward, 900 kilometres away from Dodoma, Tanzania's capital. But one of the images is actually of Kenyan actress Wanjiku Mburu, who posted a video on Facebook on 5 November 2025, while in South Africa, and another on 10 November, clearly alive on the day the newspaper was supposedly published. The circulating front page is manipulated. It contains false claims, misattributed images, and does not match Habari Leo's authentic edition from 6 November.

Tanzania: Doctored Newspaper Front Page Falsely Claims Tanzania's Habari Leo Reported 23,000 Civilians Killed By Police

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines This translates to: "Tanzanians killed by police reach 23,000." Below the headline are photos of 14 people, presented as those allegedly killed by police. But did Habari Leo's front page for the 6 November edition carry this headline? We checked. This front page was also posted here, here, here, here, here and here. Read the original story, with links and other resources.Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org Tagged: Tanzania East Africa Governance Legal Affairs Media Tagged: Tanzania East Africa Governance Legal Affairs Media Tagged: Tanzania East Africa Governance Legal Affairs Media AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 120 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. 11 December 2025 Africa Check (Johannesburg) By November 2025, discussions about police brutality, casualty figures, supposed foreign involvement and cross-border movement were widespread online, particularly after president Samia Suluhu suggested that some of those involved in violence were not Tanzanian nationals. Read the original story, with links and other resources.Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org