On December 25, @iam_abvazz, an account on X, posted pictures of a woman carrying in her hands a newborn allegedly suffering from a health condition and solicited funds from the online public.

The account claimed that the new baby in the images, whose tongue stuck out abnormally, required surgery. While the gender of the person behind the account could not be verified, they claimed the baby was their daughter.

The mere sight of the images evoked empathy. More so, the message was worded to make readers make donations to help the child out of their condition. It read:

“My daughter is in critical condition and needs urgent surgery. She’s in so much pain and always crying. Please guys, am on my knees seeking for ur assistance to help my daughter go to surgery. Please kindly help donate to save a soul!“

A verifiable Access Bank account number was provided in the post for people to send their donations to:

“Please don’t scroll down without help, donate to save my daughter’s life. Doctors advice if not treated early, I might loose my only baby, please kindly help. Account Details 1680652242 Suweba Muhammad, Access Bank. May God bless you as u help!”

Posted at 7:20 pm on Christmas Day, the post has been viewed by more than 512 thousand accounts in less than 19 hours, with many innocent viewers reposting it for a wider audience. A few hours after it was posted, the comment section of the post was open, allowing some accounts to comment and send their goodwill messages.

In a manner characteristic of help-seeking posts on social media, an account tagged Michael Collins Ajereh, a celebrity and Nigerian musician known as Don Jazzy, for his attention.

A closer look at the account’s activities, however, leaves one in doubt about the genuineness of the claim. FIJ’s checks showed the account to be dubious.

It was created in June 2023 and has only 23 posts. It has just 135 followers, while 23 accounts are following it. Of the 23 posts, the fraudulent claim asking people for money is the only original post; the rest are reposts.

FIJ found that the images were first posted by Achai Awet Alor, also known as Achai Wiir, a South Sudanese young businesswoman, on June 15, 2022.

The philanthropist explained that a surgery meant to correct the child’s deformity was delayed due to a financial constraint but her team intervened after meeting with the baby’s mother in a hospital in Sudan. She then invited her audience to pray for the success of the surgery.

Her account of how she met the family posted on her verified Facebook page reads: “Yesterday evening, I sent a team from my offices to visit Maxi Medical center in a Juba suburb, Hai Dar es Salaam to check on the condition of a little baby (name withheld) whose operation was delayed due to lack of financial support.

“My team through Achai Wiir Foundation and my office had the opportunity to witness the little baby’s condition and also the privilege to share a moment with her mother and a few other people present. The team was told that the little Angel was born with this strange condition which has limited it’s ability to breastfeed and perform anything a normal newborn baby would do.

“My team conveyed my message of encouragement and support to her parents and guardians. I also offered some support in form of money to fund her surgical therapy and it’s today that she will be transferred to the operation theater to undergo a surgical procedure.

“I humbly request the general public to join her family in prayers for a successful operation, today. May the Almighty God bless and guide the hands of the surgical doctors in the operation theatre, Amen!”

Several criminal-minded individuals have subjected the child’s pictures to various fraudulent schemes on social media. On Facebook, the same images can be found on some of the accounts here, here, here and here with different stories in different countries to dupe innocent people.