A Facebook video claiming UPND officials were caught with ballot papers ahead of the 2026 General Election is misleading. iVerify Zambia established that the footage is from the 2021 election and has been recirculated with a false caption to support an unsubstantiated election-rigging narrative.
Claim:
On 6 August 2026, the Facebook page Miracle Jay Banda TV shared a video claiming that UPND officials had been caught with ballot papers, suggesting an attempt to manipulate the outcome of the 2026 General Election.
Verdict: False
Rating Justification:
iVerify Zambia conducted a Google reverse video search and traced the footage to a Facebook post published in 2021 by Stephen Mauma Zambia. The original post identified the incident as involving alleged PF cadres who were reportedly found with pre-marked ballot papers at Lady Diana School in Lusaka during the 2021 General Election.
The 2026 post does not provide any evidence that the incident is recent or that it involves UPND officials. Instead, it repurposes five-year-old footage and falsely presents it as a current event linked to the ongoing electoral process.
By removing the original context and replacing it with a misleading caption, the post creates the false impression that electoral malpractice involving UPND officials has been uncovered during the 2026 elections.
Conclusion:
The video circulated by the Facebook page Miracle Jay Banda TV is not current. It originates from the 2021 General Election and has been falsely presented as evidence of ballot paper malpractice involving UPND officials in the 2026 electoral cycle.
Recycling old videos with misleading captions is a common form of election disinformation that exploits past events to create false narratives about current electoral processes. During an election period, such content can undermine public confidence in electoral institutions, inflame political tensions, and mislead voters about the integrity of the electoral process. Audiences should verify the origin and date of viral videos before sharing them.
Evidence:
- Original 2021 Facebook video published by Stephen Mauma Zambia:
