A viral video wrongly attributes a 2025 deportation report to KTN News. Investigation reveals it is from 2017, showing deported Kenyans and Somalis. President Trump’s strict immigration policies have increased deportations, but this video does not correspond to current events.
A viral video falsely claims that KTN News reported on the deportation of Kenyans and Somalis from the US in 2025. However, a reverse image search confirms that this footage originates from 2017, thereby dispelling its connection to any events in 2025. Since January 20, 2025, Donald Trump has resumed his presidency and enacted stricter immigration policies that have increased deportations, requesting further funding for border security during a congressional address.
In Trump’s first month of his second term, 37,660 individuals were deported, which is lower than the average of 57,000 monthly deportations under the Biden administration. His administration’s policies have prompted protests in various states. A video of a KTN News bulletin, which has circulated on Facebook since February 2025, allegedly discussed “deportees from Kenya.” This video features former KTN reporter Betty Kyallo and includes the deportee names and a headline citing deportations of 64 Somalis and 7 Kenyans.
Records indicate that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has targeted 1,282 Kenyans among 1,445,549 non-citizens for deportation under Trump’s new policy. This rise in enforcement has created panic within the Kenyan community in the US, prompting many to seek residence in immigrant-friendly areas to mitigate deportation risks.
However, the news video linked to the 2025 deportations cannot be legitimate as KTN News closed in 2024 and Kyallo left the station in 2018. A keyframe from the circulating video traced back to a YouTube posting on May 12, 2017, detailing the deportation of the same individuals mentioned in the recent viral video. Thus, the video does not reference any deportations occurring in 2025.
The analysis confirms that the viral video connecting KTN News to supposed 2025 deportations is misleading and based on outdated footage from 2017. It features a reporter no longer affiliated with the news station, and therefore holds no relevance to current events. Understanding these links emphasizes the importance of verifying media credibility and the need to prevent misinformation, especially concerning immigration policies.
Original Source: africacheck.org
