ALTERED: This cover of The Standard with the headline “Babu’s Party Heist” is doctored
This cover of The Standard newspaper dated 10 September 2026 with the headline “Babu’s Party Heist” is ALTERED.
The paragraph below the main headline claims that Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has taken over the Linda Mwananchi movement, which was previously led by the Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
“As the Nairobi Senator was fighting paperwork at PPDT, Babu Owino was scheming. Now Sifuna has no party, no control as the Linda Mwananchi brand belongs to Embakasi East legislator who plans to launch this party at Jacaranda Grounds this weekend,” reads the text below the main headline.
The cover features an image of Owino donned in a light blue suit with animal skin placed on top of the suit. The MP is also wearing a white fedora hat while holding a microphone.
However, after checking The Standard e-paper section, PesaCheck found that the legitimate 10 September edition had a different headline and image.
43 days of pain, death.
— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) September 9, 2026
Introducing Platinum, Silver and Emerald memberships tailored just for you! More choice. More value. More ways to power BOLD and factual journalism. Stay informed with The Standard E-Paper and INSiDER delivered straight to your device anywhere! Enjoy… pic.twitter.com/my4k8bg1jR
The headline on the legitimate 10 September 2026 cover reads, “43 days of pain, death.”
Instead of Owino’s image, the left side of the newspaper cover features an image of an elderly woman, while the right side contains a paragraph describing how many people reportedly died as a result of the nurses’ strike.
However, the story and photo of First Lady Rachel Ruto at the top of the newspaper cover are similar in both images. The newspaper number, “No. 402613,” is also identical on both covers. This indicates that the main story on the legitimate cover was replaced with a story about Babu Owino.
Moreover, The Standard has dismissed the cover as fake.
“FAKE NEWS ALERT: This is NOT a genuine cover of The Standard. Be cautious NOT to fall for propaganda and deepfakes. For GENUINE news updates, VERIFY from our accounts @StandardKenya and @KTNNewsKE,” The Standard warned their readers using their official social media platforms.
FAKE NEWS ALERT: This is NOT a genuine cover of The Standard. Be cautious NOT to fall for propaganda and deep fakes. For GENUINE news updates, VERIFY from our accounts @StandardKenya and @KTNNewsKE pic.twitter.com/FHrucT8zhY
— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) September 10, 2026
PesaCheck has looked into a cover of The Standard dated 10 September 2026 with the headline “Babu’s Party Heist” and found it to be ALTERED.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here's more information on PesaCheck's methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Naomi Wanjiku and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Mary Mutisya and chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent's largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape the government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.