False information on President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera attending funeral of Pope Francis

False

Politics

False information on President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera attending funeral of Pope Francis

FACT-CHECKED by iVerify

April 22, 2025

Malawi's Office of the President and Cabinet has said it has not issued the said notice and Pope Francis' funeral arrangements had not been announced. Additionally, President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has not travelled to Italy, where the funeral ceremony will be conducted.

Claim

President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera will attend the Funeral of Pope Francis on Tuesday, 22 April 2025

Rating Justification

iVerify Malawi verified the notice and determined that it is false. To arrive at the verdict, iVerify Malawi talked to Spokesperson in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) Robert Kalindiza and analysed the information in the notice. Kalindiza described the notice as Fake. A closer look at the message also reveals some errors, technically and linguistically. For example, the notices of the Presidential Public Programme(s) indicate Capital Hill, Lilongwe as the place where the notice is released from, but the notice in circulation does not have that. The statement that President Chakwera will attend the funeral of Pope Francis on Tuesday, 22 April 2025 is also faulty in that it implies that Pope Francis’ funeral is on Tuesday, 22 April 2025. Additionally, the statement does not show the President’s travel itinerary and place of the funeral.

Evidence and References

Examples of notices on Malawi Presidential Public Programme

https://web.facebook.com/share/p/1BRwQ5rN3w/

https://web.facebook.com/share/p/1HzQfgSU5n/

https://web.facebook.com/share/p/1BkJC1Fkue/

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