FACT-CHECK: President Salva Kiir Mayardit did not pose with his middle finger raised

Author

The ClarityDesk

A photo circulating on social media claiming to show South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit posing with his middle finger raised is false.

The image was posted on 17 July, 2026, at 5:48 PM by South Sudanese TikToker Dr. Okong Othow with the caption “…..no election without my brother Riek Machar.”

The picture got 4.6K likes, 638 comments, and 53 shares.

Debunking the Claim:

Google reverse image, a way of looking for the history of when and where the image has been used online returned no results with the same exact picture.

The results instead found that the original image, which had been altered to make it appear as though President Salva Kiir Mayardit was raising his middle finger, was originally obtained from the Presidential Press Unit Facebook page.

The picture was posted on 9 July at 10:53 PM by the Office of the President-Republic of South Sudan.

According to an image analysis by AI or Not, a cutting-edge tool that detects AI-generated content in images, audio, and KYC identity documents, the result showed that the image is 62% AI and 15% deepfake.

Our Verdict:

The ClarityDesk finds an image circulating on social media purportedly showing South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit raising his middle finger to be digitally altered. The picture is AI-generated and was created for satirical purposes.

This article is published by The ClarityDesk through the Young Journalists Media Integrity Fellowship, with the support of the Election Civic Tech Fund of AfricTivistes, within the AHEAD Africa and Digitalise Youth projects, led by the Digital Democracy Initiative.

Have you spotted an error in this article and would like to request a correction, or have you come across a claim that we should investigate? Please send us an email via editor@claritydesk.org or click here to WhatsApp us via +211 928 606 958.

About The ClarityDesk

The ClarityDesk is a media integrity project based in South Sudan dedicated to promoting truth, transparency, and accountability. Working at the intersection of fact-checking, solutions and data journalism, we verify claims, debunk misinformation, and equip the public with tools to critically evaluate information. Our work is guided by accuracy, independence, and the public interest.