Preserved Social Media Disinformation Captures: 2026 Ethiopian Election Context

Context and Overview

This dataset contains locally preserved, high-fidelity evidence of politically sensitive disinformation circulated on Facebook by the page "ESAN TV (ኢሳን ቲቪ)" during the June 2026 Ethiopian election period.

Because live web crawlers (such as Perma.cc and the Wayback Machine) were obstructed by platform-side login walls and authentication redirects, these visual assets were captured locally to ensure data integrity and prevent evidence loss following the post's subsequent deletion.

File Contents & Forensic Breakdown

1. Text Narrative Capture (1st post.jpg): Preserves the original textual claims written in English and Amharic script (including the hashtag #ምርጫ_በኢሕአዴግ_ጊዜ). The post communicates several unverified and highly volatile claims, including:

• Allegations that the Prosperity Party falsely claimed a "93%" victory immediately following the close of voting.

• Claims that regional elections were controlled or executed by "militias."

• Speculative narratives that future elections will be suspended until "2030 E.C." to maintain current leadership.

• Claims of media suppression ("ETV just cut the air") and active conflict amplification ("wide war going on in Amharic region").

1. Visual Collage & Engagement Metrics (post 2.jpg / image_35d922.jpg): Preserves the multi-image collage attached to the text narrative, alongside public engagement metrics before deletion.

• Visual Elements: Includes a digitally manipulated (crowned) image of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed combined with generic military deployment and voting graphics, designed to imply militarized governance.

• Virality Metrics: Documents the public footprint of the disinformation, showing 250 reactions, 35 comments, and 44 shares at the time of forensic capture.

Purpose

This dataset is published as an open-access, immutable forensic record to support information integrity research, digital forensics, and media monitoring efforts surrounding democratic processes in East Africa.