FACT-CHECK: This photo of President Kiir on a hospital bed is AI-generated

A viral Facebook post claims that Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, has been hospitalized in South Africa, but the image shared online is generated by an AI tool.

“… reports claim that President Salva Kiir Mayardit is in South Africa receiving medical attention and may be in critical condition,” the post published on Facebook reads in part.

The same claim was posted by Leer TV, Renk Media, Juba Saltelite Media, Malong Baak Malong, Nene Kuek accounts, alleging that President Kiir is hospitalized.

Debunking the Claim:

A Google keyword search for “President Kiir is hospitalized in South Africa”, as a way of looking for whether the same words have been used by reputable and reliable news sources, couldn’t return tangible results.

ImageWhisperer, an AI image detector used by newsrooms worldwide to detect AI-generated images, deepfakes, and manipulated photos with 41 independent forensic checks flagged the photo captioned in the claim as AI-Generated.

On 19 and 20 March 2026, the Office of the President also published photos of two separate meetings between the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit and South African President and Deputy President respectively.

Our Verdict:

The ClarityDesk finds a photo allegedly showing South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit on a hospital bed to be false. The image is AI-generated.

This article is published by The ClarityDesk, 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.