FAKE AND DOCTORED: The New Vision Did Not Publish A Front Page, Labelling President Museveni The Worst Dictator

These are tactics employed to disinform the public and instill negative feelings.

Uganda’s general elections are looming and slated for January 2026, and citizens will be voting for the next president and members of parliament. And now, the disinformation has started.

Claim

A front page is circulating on Facebook and other social media platforms suggesting the New Vision, through their weekend paper, calls the president of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the “worst dictator”. It is fake and doctored and should be ignored.

Analysis

Below the big word “worst dictator” is a message urging Ugandans to choose wisely for their next president ahead of 2026, and notably, is an image of the National Unity Platform’s president, Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobiwine, who is also contesting among other candidates for the presidency.

This front page is inconsistent with the kind of tone and language The New Vision uses when addressing issues concerning the current president of Uganda.

Notably, the Ugandan government holds a 53.3% majority stake in the publisher. And it has been criticised for being government-controlled and is unlikely to publish content that openly condemns the long-term head of state.

In a search for New Vision’s official X account (formerly Twitter), where it routinely posts its front pages, it showed that the headline for the weekend vision edition of 21-22 June 2025 was titled “Race to Presidency”, as shown below.

This confirms that the front page with the headline President Museveni of Uganda the ‘Worst Dictator’, which is circulating online, is completely fake and misleading.

Other fact-checkers like Africa Check and Pesacheck also did detailed fact-checks on the same. News editor Sam Wakhakha at the New Vision also confirmed to Pesacheck that the cover page under investigation was altered and “that it’s fake”.