HOAX: Uganda Wildlife Authority is Not Hiring; Official Job Ads closed in APRIL 2025
Claim
A link circulating on WhatsApp, claiming that the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is currently recruiting for different positions, is a hoax and an attempt to lead you to unrelated platforms. Do not attempt to secure a job through that link.
A link asking applicants to forward to five groups and 15 people on WhatsApp before continuing with the job application process is fake and a potential tactic used to hack victims.
Upon receiving the link on WhatsApp, we decided to verify it, and here is what we found.
The Facts
The Uganda Wildlife Authority is a semi-autonomous government body under the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA) mandated to safeguard the rights and habitats of wildlife in Uganda.
And while they can be hiring and filling in vacancies like they were early this year, in an exercise that closed in April, the link we are fact-checking is not one of those cases.
A couple of things about the advert raised red flags. First, the layout after you open the link was off and contrary to that of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Whenever UWA uses its logo, it is consistently accompanied by its slogan “Conserving for Generations”, as seen here on their website and on the profile pictures of their different social media pages like X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn and even on a PDF of their job advert, unlike the website, which was inconsistent, as seen below.
Secondly, we noticed that on the official UWA website, the logo is on the left-hand side of the website, whereas on the site in question, the logo is in the centre. The branding placement does not reflect UWA standards.
Next, the link to the fake website does not provide a job description, unlike standard job advertisements, and instead only prompts users to share the link.
Evidence
When we clicked the link, it directed us to a page that displayed the message:
“offer-site.github.io says SMS: Welcome to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) application portal; press OK to apply.”
After clicking “OK”, we were redirected to what appears to be the UWA E-Recruitment portal, which we carefully filled out. However, before proceeding to the next step, we were asked to share the link with five WhatsApp groups or 15 contacts. This was another red flag, as prompts like these are intended to collect as many contacts from desperate people as possible because these actions are system-monitored. We shared the link amongst our fact-checker groups as a precautionary measure to not be the ones spreading misinformation to unaware contacts.
Once the system confirmed that the link had been shared as instructed, we were taken to the next step, where we clicked on the submit form.
And this is where the twist continues, because we were not directed to that job application form but instead redirected to various unrelated sites, as shown below:
Be careful, as these sites are not recruitment sites, and you stand a high chance of losing a lot of money and other personal details in the process, as one of the victims shared with us.
“I clicked on the link, and it asked me to first share it with others before I could continue. Even after sending it, I didn’t complete the application because I was diverted to different websites.” Racheal Iranda shared her experience
“Later that evening, I received an email from them attempting to access my PayPal account,” she added.
UWA is a government institution mandated to conserve, manage, and regulate Uganda’s wildlife. It ensures the sustainable management of wildlife resources and oversees wildlife-related activities both within and outside protected areas.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), UWA addressed the situation, stating, “We are not hiring. Beware of unscrupulous people out there.”
Verdict: Hoax.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority is not hiring. The link circulating on social media is fake and an example of social engineering, a manipulative tactic used to deceive victims and gain access to personal and financial information. Please beware and ignore the link.