An image shared on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, claims to show a Wagner Group mercenary with a Niger soldier.

The Military Junta in Niger has made contact with the Wagner PMC Group pic.twitter.com/WtmIP27ip3

— Dr Penking™🇳🇬🇦🇺 (@drpenking) August 4, 2023

Verdict: Misleading

The image shows a Wagner Group mercenary in the Central African Republic.

Fact Check:

An analyst claimed that Niger’s junta had asked Wagner Group for help through Mali, according to The Associated Press. Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, has maintained a presence in Mali since 2021, the outlet reported.

The tweet claims that the “military junta in Niger has made contact with the Wagner PMC Group” and shares an image of a Wagner mercenary with a soldier. The image implies it shows a Niger soldier with a Wagner mercenary.

However, the image does not show a Niger soldier. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the image actually shows a Central African Republic soldier in March 2022. The image was shared on news outlets such as Defense One, identifying the soldier as from the Central African Republic. (RELATED: Viral Video Purporting To Show Niger’s Minister Of Finance Crying Is Misleading)

“A private security guard from the Russian group Wagner (L) stands next to a Central African Republic soldier during a rally of the United Hearts Movement (MCU) political party at the Omnisport Stadium in Bangui on March 18, 2022. AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES / BARBARA DEBOUT,” reads the image caption.

Other outlets, such as The Washington Post and The Sunday Times, made the same identification. Fact-checking website Misbar was the first outlet to debunk this image.