Kiden Naome JosephMay 21, 2026
A post making (archived) rounds on Facebook and other social media platforms claims that the U.S. President Donald Trump issued a statement of support for SPLA-IO forces, but this is false.
The claim, which was first published by a page named Naath In Europe (archived) on 13 April 2026, is accompanied by Donald Trump’s image, which alleges that he posted on his social media platform Truth Social with the words, ‘Congratulations to SPLA-IO for overtaking Akobo town again. I wish you will rise up soon.’
The Facebook post received more than 662 reactions, 85 comments and 6 shares by the time of this publication. Other publications that reported and shared this claim are here (archived), here (archived) and here (archived).
Debunking the Claim:
Using Google keyword search for the keywords “Did Donald Trump congratulate SPLA-IO for taking Akobo?” returned results which clearly disagree with the claim.
From the same search, there are links that showed the same image of Trump being used by different media houses, and here are some.
On 11 April 2026, The Guardian published the image with the headline: “Israeli strike kills paramedic, says Lebanese Red Cross – as it happened.” The caption of the image shows that it was taken at Miami airport on 11 April.
In early April 2026, President Donald Trump was mainly focused on the affairs regarding the blockade of the Iranian port, and the picture used was from an Instagram post by Alarabiya.
There is no archived record of this post on Truth Social or any official communication channel associated with President Donald Trump. Additionally, the graphic features an Al Arabiya English watermark; however, that news organization has confirmed no such report exists within their coverage.
In addition to all these findings, critically look at the image on the claim; in its bottom-right corner is the watermark for Google Gemini AI, an AI tool developed by Google that can be used to generate or modify images, therefore a clear indication that the image was altered using AI.
Our Verdict:
The ClarityDesk has found that while the recapturing of Akobo Town in April is a factual event, the alleged endorsement by US President Donald Trump depicted in a graphic being circulated on social media is false.
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.
