What Eritrea's Most Famous Fakes Reveal
Eritrea has one outstanding modern hoax: the viral 2016 claim that its government had ordered every man to marry at least two women. The supposed decree was invented, yet it travelled across African news sites and social media as if it were official policy.
Page outline Jump by section
Introduction
That distinction matters. Some claims discussed here were deliberate fabrications; others were rumours, misidentifications or disputed official narratives. Eritrea’s closed media environment makes all of them harder to check. With no independent domestic news outlets and severe restrictions on journalism, reliable confirmation often comes from witnesses, satellite imagery, document comparison, open-source investigators and reporters working outside the country.[Reporters Without Borders]rsf.orgReporters Without BordersEritreaThere are no independent media outlets in this country, sadly notorious for detaining journalists longer…
The decree that ordered men to take two wives
In January 2016, a startling report appeared online: Eritrean men were supposedly being compelled by law to marry at least two women, with imprisonment threatened for anyone who refused. The alleged purpose was to restore the population after years of war. Some versions added that wives who objected would also be punished.
The story was false. It originated with an article on a Kenyan website and was repeated across blogs, radio discussions and social-media accounts. Memes circulated internationally, while some men joked that they were ready to move to Eritrea. Established outlets and fact-checkers eventually traced the claim to an unreliable source and found no genuine decree, government notice or credible reporting to support it. An Eritrean official described the authorities as appalled by the fabrication.[publicmediaalliance.org]publicmediaalliance.orgPublic Media AllianceEritrean polygamy hoax highlights need for verification toolsJanuary 29, 2016 — 29 Jan 2016 — Eritrean polygamy hoax…
The hoax worked because it combined several ingredients that make invented news unusually shareable. It concerned sex and marriage, appeared to confirm stereotypes about an unfamiliar authoritarian state, and offered a supposedly rational explanation involving wartime population loss. The alleged law was extraordinary enough to attract attention but not so impossible that every reader rejected it immediately.
It also exploited a verification gap. Few international readers knew Eritrean law, while the country’s limited press freedom made it difficult to obtain a rapid answer from independent journalists inside Eritrea. Repetition supplied the appearance of confirmation: one site copied another, and readers encountered several reports without realising that they all rested on the same unsupported story.
The details should have raised suspicion. A government order affecting every adult man ought to have produced an identifiable legal text, official announcement and widespread domestic consequences. None appeared. Eritrea’s penal law did not support the central claim; available accounts of the law treated a second marriage as bigamy rather than a civic obligation.[Snopes]snopes.comeritrea multiple wivesFALSE: Eritrean Men Are Being Forced to Marry Multiple…28 Jan 2016 — A news article reporting that men in Eritrea were being for…
The episode is therefore best understood as a genuine media hoax rather than an Eritrean custom misunderstood by outsiders. Its principal promoters were publishers chasing attention and social-media users sharing the joke. Eritrea itself supplied the exotic setting but not the invention.
When secrecy made wartime denial possible
A much graver dispute arose after war began in Ethiopia’s Tigray region in November 2020. Eritrea initially denied that its forces had crossed the border and joined the fighting. Ethiopia’s federal authorities also resisted or obscured reports of Eritrean involvement. Witnesses, refugees, journalists and human-rights investigators nevertheless described Eritrean soldiers operating inside Tigray.[reuters.com]reuters.comEritrea denies troop incursion into Ethiopia's TigrayEritrea denies troop incursion into Ethiopia's Tigray
This was not a prank or free-floating internet rumour. It was an official denial concerning an active war, issued while access to the conflict zone was heavily restricted. The absence of independent Eritrean media and the difficulty of reporting from Tigray allowed contradictory narratives to persist. Each side could dismiss inconvenient testimony as enemy propaganda, while audiences outside the region struggled to identify uniforms, locations and chains of command.
Investigators gradually assembled evidence from multiple sources. Amnesty International interviewed survivors and witnesses concerning killings in Axum and used satellite imagery that it said was consistent with new burial sites. Human Rights Watch separately collected testimony about killings attributed to Eritrean forces. A later joint investigation by the United Nations human-rights office and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission documented serious violations by all major parties, including Eritrean forces.[amnesty.org]amnesty.orgOpen source on amnesty.org.
The central denial became untenable. In March 2021, Ethiopia’s prime minister publicly acknowledged that Eritrean troops had entered Tigray. In April, Eritrea told the United Nations Security Council that it had agreed to begin withdrawing them, its first public acknowledgement of participation.[Reuters]reuters.comEritrea agrees to withdraw troops from border areaEritrea agrees to withdraw troops from border area
That reversal did not settle every allegation about the war. Estimates of casualties, responsibility for particular attacks and the movements of individual units remained contested, and abuses were reported against several forces. The evidential lesson is narrower but important: the original blanket denial of Eritrean military presence was contradicted by accumulating testimony, physical evidence and eventual official acknowledgement.
The episode also shows how the language of debunking can itself become propaganda. A report promoted by Eritrean officials portrayed extensive reporting on Tigray as an international disinformation campaign. Analysts at the Digital Forensic Research Lab argued that the document borrowed the appearance of fact-checking—labels, rebuttal formats and claims of media manipulation—while attempting to dismiss a substantial body of evidence.[Medium]medium.comEritrean report uses fact-checking tropes to dismissEritrean report uses fact-checking tropes to dismiss
Calling an allegation “fake news” does not establish that it is false. In a closed or wartime information system, the decisive questions are whether a claim can be independently corroborated, whether its sources are identifiable, whether images match the stated place and date, and whether later admissions contradict earlier statements.
Old footage, altered sound and imaginary battles
Online misinformation involving Eritrea increasingly relies on real material presented with a false description. A genuine photograph, speech or military parade is cheaper and often more convincing than a wholly invented scene. The deception lies in changing the date, location, participants or meaning.
During periods of tension between Eritrea and Ethiopia, AFP fact-checkers have documented several recurring techniques:
- Unrelated military images: Photographs of missiles, tanks and aircraft were circulated in 2021 as proof of a recent Eritrean exercise. Searches for earlier appearances showed that the images were old and unrelated to the claimed event.[AFP Fact Check]factcheck.afp.comOpen source on afp.com.
- Recycled troop footage: A video shared in 2025 as evidence that Eritrean soldiers were newly crossing into Ethiopia actually showed troops returning home more than two years earlier, after operations connected with the Tigray war.[AFP Fact Check]factcheck.afp.comOpen source on afp.com.
- Invented fighting: A 2023 post claimed to show a new Ethiopia–Eritrea conflict, but the video merely combined pictures of the two countries’ leaders with commentary about whether regional events might lead to war.[AFP Fact Check]factcheck.afp.comOpen source on afp.com.
- False conquest of Assab: In 2025, posts claimed that Ethiopian troops and warships had retaken Eritrea’s port of Assab. The visual material did not show such an operation, and the supposed military takeover had not occurred.[AFP Fact Check]factcheck.afp.comOpen source on afp.com.
- Altered speeches: A video circulated in 2025 with a voiceover falsely suggesting that a former Ethiopian army chief had advocated seizing Assab. Comparison with the original interview showed that the soundtrack misrepresented what he had said.[AFP Fact Check]factcheck.afp.comOpen source on afp.com.
- Old protest scenes: Footage presented as demonstrations in Asmara in December 2025 was traced to protests filmed in 2017. No credible reporting supported the claim of equivalent contemporary unrest.[AFP Fact Check]factcheck.afp.comOpen source on afp.com.
By 2026, synthetic media had become part of the same conflict. Pro-Ethiopian and pro-Eritrean accounts circulated artificial-intelligence-generated scenes of military success, surrender and political humiliation. These clips did not necessarily imitate sober television journalism; some were crude or theatrical. Their function was often emotional rather than evidential—to excite supporters, mock opponents and create the impression of unstoppable victory.[AFP Fact Check]factcheck.afp.comOpen source on afp.com.
Other 2026 examples used more conventional editing. A military parade held in Addis Ababa in 2023 was altered and falsely labelled as Ethiopian forces entering Eritrea. Old footage of Ethiopia’s prime minister announcing the Tigray war in 2020 was reposted as a new declaration that Eritrea had attacked Ethiopia.[AFP Fact Check]factcheck.afp.comOpen source on afp.com.
These fabrications spread because they attach visible “proof” to existing fears. When relations deteriorate, audiences already expect mobilisation, border crossings or a struggle over Red Sea access. A few seconds of tanks or soldiers can therefore feel like confirmation even when the footage predates the alleged event.
The most useful checks are often simple: locate the earliest upload, compare landmarks and uniforms, listen for a mismatch between speech and subtitles, search key frames, and look for confirmation from several independent reporters. A dramatic video posted by a partisan account is evidence only that the video exists—not that its caption is true.
False papers and the trade in Eritrean identity
Forgery linked to Eritrea also appears in migration and asylum systems. Country-information inquiries have reported markets for counterfeit or fraudulently obtained Eritrean passports, identity cards, military papers, leave documents and certificates. Some documents have reportedly been produced outside Eritrea, particularly where displaced people need to prove nationality or personal history but cannot easily obtain records from Eritrean authorities.[ecoi.net]ecoi.netOpen source on ecoi.net.
This is fraud rather than public spectacle, but it operates through a similar contest over believable evidence. A document may be wholly counterfeit, genuinely issued but altered, or authentic in appearance while containing false biographical information. Conversely, genuine documents from a poorly understood system may be wrongly rejected because an examiner expects standardised records that Eritrea does not consistently provide.
The existence of forged Eritrean papers does not mean that Eritrean asylum applicants as a group are fraudulent. It means that migration authorities face a difficult authentication problem. Scarce records, inconsistent access to consular services, displacement and profitable black markets create incentives both for forgery and for exaggerated accusations of forgery.
A related danger is false identification. In 2016, Italian authorities announced that they had captured Medhanie Yehdego Mered, an alleged organiser of a major people-smuggling network. The arrested Eritrean, however, insisted that he was Medhanie Tesfamariam Berhe, a refugee and former carpenter with a similar first name. Relatives, acquaintances and documents supported his account, and journalists documented serious weaknesses in the identification. The case became an example of how institutional confidence, unfamiliar names and remote intelligence can produce a mistaken impostor story in which the supposed master criminal may be the wrong man.[The New Yorker]newyorker.comThe New Yorker How Not to Solve the Refugee CrisisThe New Yorker How Not to Solve the Refugee Crisis
Unlike the two-wives tale, this was not an invented joke. Nor was it an imposture established as having been performed by the accused. Its relevance lies in the machinery of false certainty: investigators fitted a real person to a wanted identity, then treated disagreement as deception. Such cases remind readers that exposure must work in both directions. Authorities should detect forged identities, but they must also prove that the person before them is genuinely the person named in an accusation.
Why Eritrean falsehoods are unusually hard to untangle
Eritrea’s information environment shapes nearly every case. Independent newspapers were closed in 2001, and press-freedom organisations continue to report that no independent domestic media operate openly. Journalists have been imprisoned for decades without normal judicial safeguards.[rsf.org]rsf.orgeritrea 20 years dictatorship two decades no independent mediaThe politicians who signed the op-ed calling for democratic reforms that Setit had published…Read more…
This creates an information vacuum rather than a population naturally inclined to believe rumours. Ordinary Eritreans, diaspora communities, opposition groups, government supporters, foreign journalists and neighbouring states all operate with unequal access to facts. Messages may cross several languages and private networks before reaching a wider public. Research initiatives examining Eritrean online communities have specifically identified fake news, hate speech and misinformation as problems requiring better tools and closer study.[Internet Society Foundation]isocfoundation.orgOpen source on isocfoundation.org.
Several forces repeatedly make doubtful claims persuasive:
Official opacity. When basic statistics, military deployments or policy decisions cannot be checked through independent institutions, rumour becomes a substitute for reporting.
Political polarisation. Claims are often judged by whether they help or harm the Eritrean government, Ethiopia, Tigrayan forces or diaspora factions. Evidence becomes secondary to allegiance.
The authority of copied material. A false story may appear on dozens of websites, although every version derives from one unsupported post.
Visual immediacy. Military footage seems self-authenticating, even though the crucial information—where and when it was filmed—comes from the caption.
Plausible stereotypes. The forced-polygamy hoax succeeded partly because readers assumed that any bizarre command might be possible in a secretive authoritarian country.
Real surrounding crises. False reports about invasions, protests and conscription flourish because war, repression and regional tension are genuine. Fabricators borrow credibility from true conditions.
The result is a landscape in which both credulity and reflexive disbelief are dangerous. An apparently absurd claim may be supported by witnesses and satellite evidence; an apparently plausible report may be an old clip with a new caption. Government denial is not proof of innocence, but an opposition account is not proof of guilt either.
What survives after a hoax is exposed
The two-wives story still circulates because the correction is less memorable than the fantasy. Search results, memes and copied articles preserve the original claim long after reputable reporting has rejected it. Some later versions omit the date, making the rumour appear new again.
Military fabrications survive for a different reason. They can be repeatedly adapted to new crises. The same parade, convoy or speech may return whenever relations worsen, furnished with a fresh caption. Each revival reaches people who never saw the earlier debunking.
Officially promoted narratives can be even more durable because they are tied to identity and political loyalty. Evidence that changed the factual record—such as Eritrea’s eventual acknowledgement that its troops had entered Tigray—does not necessarily persuade audiences who have already accepted a broader story of universal foreign hostility or universal government deceit.
Eritrea’s most revealing hoax history is therefore not a cabinet of eccentric curiosities. It is a study in how scarce information acquires value. The comic marriage decree, grave wartime denials, forged identity papers and recycled battle scenes all depended on the same basic weakness: a gap between an arresting claim and the reader’s ability to inspect its source. The strongest exposures closed that gap by finding the original document or footage, comparing dates and places, interviewing independent witnesses and requiring official assertions to survive evidence rather than repetition.
Amazon book picks
Further Reading
Books and field guides related to What Eritrea's Most Famous Fakes Reveal. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
How Propaganda Works
Matches the page's focus on deception, narratives and information control.
The Dictator's Handbook
Explains incentives behind controlled information environments.
eBay marketplace picks
Marketplace Samples
Example marketplace items related to this page. Use the search link to explore similar finds on eBay.
Endnotes
1.
Source: snopes.com
Title: eritrea multiple wives
Link:https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/eritrea-multiple-wives/
Source snippet
FALSE: Eritrean Men Are Being Forced to Marry Multiple...28 Jan 2016 — A news article reporting that men in Eritrea were being for...
2.
Source: reuters.com
Title: Eritrea denies troop incursion into Ethiopia’s Tigray
Link:https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-conflict-minister/eritrea-denies-troop-incursion-into-ethiopias-tigray-idUSKBN27Q1KU/
3.
Source: amnesty.org
Link:https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr25/3730/2021/en/
4.
Source: amnesty.org
Link:https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/02/ethiopia-eritrean-troops-massacre-of-hundreds-of-axum-civilians-may-amount-to-crime-against-humanity/
5.
Source: ohchr.org
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/OHCHR-EHRC-Tigray-Report.pdf
6.
Source: reuters.com
Title: Eritrea agrees to withdraw troops from border area
Link:https://www.reuters.com/world/ethiopias-pm-says-eritrea-agreed-withdraw-troops-border-area-2021-03-26/
7.
Source: reuters.com
Title: eritrea admits presence ethiopias tigray tells un withdrawing 2021 04 16
Link:https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/eritrea-admits-presence-ethiopias-tigray-tells-un-withdrawing-2021-04-16/
8.
Source: medium.com
Title: Eritrean report uses fact-checking tropes to dismiss
Link:https://medium.com/dfrlab/eritrean-report-uses-fact-checking-tropes-to-dismiss-evidence-as-disinformation-385718327481
9.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.9QE94K
10.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.38GX7NP
11.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.33FJ8WK
12.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.372B8BR
13.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.83DW4CQ
14.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.89AG2G3
15.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.A6G39WE
16.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.99899ZQ
17.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.B3Y3363
18.
Source: ecoi.net
Link:https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/1121488.html
19.
Source: irb-cisr.gc.ca
Link:https://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/country-information/rir/Pages/index.aspx?doc=457602
20.
Source: ecoi.net
Link:https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/1336761.html
21.
Source: ohchr.org
Title: human rights situation eritrea remains dire and authorities choose
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/en/meeting-summaries/2024/06/human-rights-situation-eritrea-remains-dire-and-authorities-choose
22.
Source: ohchr.org
Title: tigray conflict report calls accountability violations and abuses all
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/11/tigray-conflict-report-calls-accountability-violations-and-abuses-all
23.
Source: spcommreports.ohchr.org
Link:https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=38802
24.
Source: reuters.com
Title: ethiopia conflict eritrea
Link:https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/ethiopia-conflict-eritrea/
25.
Source: reuters.com
Title: eritrean soldiers pull out major tigray towns eyewitnesses say 2022 12 30
Link:https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/eritrean-soldiers-pull-out-major-tigray-towns-eyewitnesses-say-2022-12-30/
26.
Source: reuters.com
Link:https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW393809022026RP1/
27.
Source: reuters.com
Link:https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/exclusive-us-says-reports-eritrean-troops-ethiopias-tigray-are-credible-2020-12-11/
28.
Source: reuters.com
Link:https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/exclusive-un-official-accuses-eritrean-forces-deliberately-starving-tigray-2021-06-11/
29.
Source: state.gov
Link:https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/eritrea
30.
Source: amnesty.org
Link:https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2019/06/eritrea-government-officials-and-supporters-target-critics-abroad-as-repression-stretches-beyond-borders/
31.
Source: factcheck.afp.com
Link:https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.B2FZ4G3
32.
Source: ecoi.net
Link:https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2136210.html
33.
Source: medium.com
Title: how africa fares on the press freedom index 2021 17f485e11759
Link:https://medium.com/code-for-africa/how-africa-fares-on-the-press-freedom-index-2021-17f485e11759
34.
Source: amnesty.lu
Title: Etiopia Report
Link:https://www.amnesty.lu/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Etiopia-Report.pdf
35.
Source: amnesty.nl
Title: The State of the Worlds Human Rights 2024 Amnesty International
Link:https://www.amnesty.nl/content/uploads/2025/04/The-State-of-the-Worlds-Human-Rights-2024-Amnesty-International.pdf
36.
Source: rsf.org
Link:https://rsf.org/en/country/eritrea
Source snippet
Reporters Without BordersEritreaThere are no independent media outlets in this country, sadly notorious for detaining journalists longer...
37.
Source: rsf.org
Title: eritrea 20 years dictatorship two decades no independent media
Link:https://rsf.org/en/eritrea-20-years-dictatorship-two-decades-no-independent-media
Source snippet
The politicians who signed the op-ed calling for democratic reforms that Setit had published...Read more...
38.
Source: cpj.org
Link:https://cpj.org/africa/eritrea/
Source snippet
Committee to Protect JournalistsEritrea ArchivesEritrea is the world's most censored country, according to a list compiled by the Committ...
39.
Source: publicmediaalliance.org
Link:https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/eritrean-polygamy-hoax-highlights-need-for-verification-tools/
Source snippet
Public Media AllianceEritrean polygamy hoax highlights need for verification toolsJanuary 29, 2016 — 29 Jan 2016 — Eritrean polygamy hoax...
Published: January 29, 2016
40.
Source: thedailystar.net
Link:https://www.thedailystar.net/offbeat/eritrea-%E2%80%98appalled%E2%80%99-hoax-forced-polygamy-story-208774
Source snippet
Some men have commented on Twitter that they are ready to travel to Eritrea to...Read more...
41.
Source: qz.com
Link:https://qz.com/africa/605885/what-eritreas-forced-polygamy-hoax-tells-us-about-the-state-of-african-news-media
Source snippet
Last week, a story claiming the Eritrean government had issued a ruling...Read more...
42.
Source: aljazeera.com
Title: eritrea confirms its troops are fighting ethiopias tigray
Link:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/17/eritrea-confirms-its-troops-are-fighting-ethiopias-tigray
43.
Source: newyorker.com
Title: The New Yorker How Not to Solve the Refugee Crisis
Link:https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/31/how-not-to-solve-the-refugee-crisis
44.
Source: isocfoundation.org
Link:https://www.isocfoundation.org/project/the-effect-of-social-media-platforms-on-neglected-countries-and-diaspora-communities-an-investigation-into-the-eritrean-case-2/
45.
Source: hrw.org
Link:https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/eritrea
46.
Source: hrw.org
Link:https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/eritrea
47.
Source: digitallibrary.un.org
Link:https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3947207?ln=en
48.
Source: liberties.aljazeera.com
Title: amnesty tigray report
Link:https://liberties.aljazeera.com/en/amnesty-tigray-report/
Additional References
49.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Eritrea ranked worst country for press freedom in Africa | DW News
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bk-9H5M0oc
Source snippet
10 Countries With a Serious FAKE NEWS Problem...
50.
Source: youtube.com
Title: FACT CHECK: Mandatory Polygamy in African country Eritrea?
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaUYM9P9ih0
Source snippet
Leaks from Eritrea, Africa's North Korea...
51.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Before You Move To #Eritrea To Marry Two Wives
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpLZgr_FdYg
Source snippet
FACT CHECK: Mandatory Polygamy in African country Eritrea?...
52.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Leaks from Eritrea, Africa’s North Korea
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBacsi5eX0A
Source snippet
Eritrea ranked worst country for press freedom in Africa | DW News...
53.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/ERTREA/posts/eritrea-denies-troop-incursion-into-ethiopias-tigrayby-reuters-staffnairobi-reut/10157629063032327/
54.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/trtafrika/posts/ai-generated-images-are-spreading-misinformation-and-inflaming-animosity-online-/916701247815345/
55.
Source: apnews.com
Link:https://apnews.com/article/50d9739687f39efb780273884f12b890
56.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera/posts/after-months-of-denials-ethiopias-pm-abiy-ahmed-admitted-that-eritrean-troops-cr/10159856907268690/
57.
Source: cipesa.org
Link:https://cipesa.org/wp-content/files/briefs/report/Disinformation-Pathways-and-Effects-Case-Studies-from-Five-African-Countries-Report-2.pdf
58.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/eritrean.view/posts/-why-ethiopian-propagandists-and-trolls-are-attacking-eritrea-online1-deflection/1118440073691058/
Topic Tree
Follow this branch
Related pages 192
- Albanian Hoaxes
- Algerian Hoaxes
- Antigua Deceptions
- Argentina Hoaxes
- Armenian Hoaxes
- +187 more in sidebar