GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo – False claims about a mysterious illness spread like wildfire through northeastern Congo last year, ultimately leading to the brutal murders of health workers and highlighting the deadly consequences of medical misinformation in Africa.
The fabricated rumors, which falsely alleged that a strange disease was causing male genital shrinkage, began circulating in Tshopo province’s rainforest communities in late 2023. Social media platforms quickly amplified these baseless claims, creating widespread panic that would soon turn fatal.
Four medical professionals conducting vaccination research were attacked and killed by angry villagers in October, according to government officials and a team member who survived the assault. The violence represents a chilling example of how online health misinformation can have real-world deadly consequences across Africa.
The carnage didn’t stop there. At least 17 deaths connected to these false rumors have been documented throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the WHO-led Africa Infodemic Response Alliance, which tracks fraudulent health information.
“Really led to death and murder,” said alliance director Elodie Ho, speaking from Nairobi about the Congo situation. “It started in communities. It spread into social media and local media. It was amplified by those actors.”
An investigation into more than twelve video testimonials, including one watched by hundreds of thousands of viewers, revealed that religious institutions helped propagate the false claims throughout Tshopo province. International social media accounts and regional news outlets also contributed to spreading the misinformation.
Two verified videos showed religious leaders and congregation members at Kisangani churches claiming that prayer had healed supposed victims of the nonexistent illness.
Local authorities in Tshopo took the allegations seriously enough to investigate five purported cases, but their probe found zero evidence supporting the existence of any such disease, according to a government spokesperson.
Officials have taken action against those who fueled the panic. A regional court handed down a 12-month prison sentence to one man who accused another person of transmitting the fictitious disease, while approximately twelve individuals were arrested in connection with the incident.
The mistrust of established medical practices seen across parts of Africa stems partially from both colonial history and more recent Western clinical research, according to health experts. This skepticism has been supercharged by accessible artificial intelligence technology and widespread social media adoption.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, who leads the African Union’s Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, explained how false information prevents people from accessing life-saving medical care.
“When populations do not trust vaccines, health workers, or government policies, it means they don’t access services that can help them survive,” Kaseya stated.
Similar violence targeting community leaders and healthcare professionals has occurred in Mozambique and Malawi, connected to false cholera-related information.
A WHO-managed helpline designed to combat health misinformation has experienced a dramatic surge in calls, jumping from 3,331 in early 2025’s first quarter to 31,636 in the fourth quarter. Another WHO initiative tracking community interactions has recorded approximately 500 incidents since launching last year, all related to rumors, conspiracy theories, and other false information.
Dr. Bavon Tangunza, who manages the AIRA alliance operations in Congo, received an early warning about the fabricated illness in Tshopo during early October when a colleague alerted him to rumors spreading throughout the province.
Video testimonials from alleged victims quickly appeared online, including footage of a taxi driver speaking at a Christian gathering in Tshopo. The man claimed that megachurch pastor Jules Mulindwa of the Pentecostal Church Light of the World in Kisangani had cured him through prayer.
The taxi driver provided no supporting evidence, and his identity could not be confirmed. The video, bearing the church’s logo and posted on TikTok by a prominent church worker, gained widespread viewership and sharing.
On the Facebook page of Boyoma Revolution, an online news site with a listed address in Marseille, France, the video has accumulated over 300,000 views.
Mulindwa, who presents himself as a prophet and has more than 400,000 TikTok subscribers, has previously made false claims about curing coronavirus, according to CongoCheck, an online fact-checking platform.
The violence erupted on October 6 when health workers arrived in Tshopo’s Isangi area villages to conduct vaccination surveys. In Ilambi village, young men accused the medical team of secretly spreading the fake disease after seeing outsiders wearing high-visibility vests and carrying tablet computers.
Two team members, medical doctors Placide Mbungi and John Tangakeya, attempted to explain their vaccine research, which had no connection to the health scare. Both were killed immediately, according to local officials and surviving team member Jean-Claude Kengefuku Mbatu.
“They burned him alive, without even leaving me a trace of him,” Tangakeya’s widow Justine Tangakeya Basekauke told reporters.
In the nearby village of Yafira, their colleagues Mathieu Mosisi and Kevin Ilunga sought assistance from a local police officer, but an enraged crowd killed them as well, according to Tshopo health official Marie Jeanne Lebe following a completed investigation of the incident.
The day following the murders, on October 7, the governor’s office issued a statement both printed and posted online declaring the rumors false and dangerous.
Over the following month, AIRA’s Tangunza helped develop messages broadcast in local languages through radio, online platforms, and community workers, while conducting workshops to prepare responses for future misinformation crises.
However, the false rumors continue resurfacing months later. In March, a woman in Congo’s Lualaba province was accused of spreading the disease and killed by a mob, while another person survived a similar attack, according to AIRA citing local media reports.
Efforts to combat false information face additional challenges as foreign aid cuts from the United States and other nations over the past year have left AIRA financially strained, director Ho explained.
The organization now operates with personnel in only three countries, including Tangunza in Congo, down from five previously. An artificial intelligence platform designed to monitor online conversations for fake information remains inactive due to lack of funding for monthly provider subscriptions.
The WHO regional office confirmed that discussions are ongoing to secure funding for sustaining and expanding AIRA’s operations.
