A video viewed more than 500,000 times on Facebook claims that just one day after Somalia’s presidential election, troops staged a coup and destroyed the newly-elected president’s residence. This is false: there have been no reports of a coup in Somalia, and AFP reporters on the ground confirmed that the claim is baseless. The video, which features footage of soldiers marching, includes scenes from a military parade that took place prior to the election.

This Facebook post was published on May 16, 2022, a day after Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected president for a second time in a long-overdue poll. Mohamud, who was previously president from 2012 to 2017, beat incumbent Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known as Farmajo.

The post, in Somali, reads: “BREAKING: Military coup takes effect after forces attack the residence of president-elect Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Farmajo is told not to leave Villa Somalia [the presidential palace] and all Mogadishu streets are closed.”

It features a video showing various scenes of troops marching, with a Somali voiceover claiming that “mutinous military forces” had captured part of the capital, angered by the results of the election. The voice goes on to claim that the military asked the former president not to leave the presidential palace and told residents to obey a curfew, with no movement allowed until further notice.

However, AFP Fact Check found the post’s claims to be false.

No coup

AFP reporters in the capital Mogadishu confirmed...

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