Ethiopia has recently embarked on significant macroeconomic reform that includes market-based foreign exchange trading, in a departure from its past policies. Although this has been welcomed by major international financial institutions, many Ethiopians are concerned that it could push rising living costs even higher. In this context, a post shared on Facebook claims to show protests against the rising cost of living. However, this is false: the photos are old. They show protests against ethnic violence in April 2021 and the disbanding of local security forces in April 2023.

The post in Amharic, published on August 1, 2024, reads: “Emerging public uprising in Ethiopia.”

“They are city men who can't feed themselves due to [prime minister] Abiy's sabotage,” it adds, referring to the crowds in the photos.

Two photos accompany the post, both showing big crowds marching with banners.

Macroeconomic reform

On July 28, 2024, the Ethiopian government embarked on a comprehensive macroeconomic reform package, a change that has been backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (archived here). The reform package permits market-based foreign exchange trading, a move that represents a significant departure from the previous policy when the National Bank of Ethiopia controlled foreign exchange trading.

The changes led to a significant devaluation of the Ethiopian birr against the US dollar by around 30 percent overnight on July 29, 2024. The devaluation has since...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigAFBVV95cUxQUEptcWcxSTVHQzJqSUVYcHFy...