A post shared with a video on Facebook claims that the clip shows the ruling Prosperity Party (PP) in Ethiopia being disbanded. However, this is false: the video discusses unrest in the country’s Amhara region and growing dissension within the PP but makes no mention of it being dissolved. The party has not made any official announcement to that effect either and continues to operate as usual. Its disbandment also would have triggered fresh elections.
The video begins with footage of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed talking in front of a camera and then continues for more than 14 minutes with visuals of cars and trucks traversing rural parts of Ethiopia.
The caption in Amharic translates to: "The Prosperity Party was officially dissolved. Abiy heard the bad news. The time has finally arrived".
Screenshot of the false post taken on July 2, 2023
The post was published on June 16, 2023, and has been shared more than 250 times.
In April 2023, Ethiopia's government vowed to disarm regional armed forces. But this has led to fierce resistance (archived here) in the Amhara region, which has the country's second-largest population.
Local media reports (archived here) indicate the ongoing unrest has prompted many Amharas, who formerly supported Abiy, to turn against him.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), deadly unrest has continued in Amhara despite the federal government’s efforts to disarm what it calls "extremist forces".
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