What was claimed
Posts share details about the alleged murder of Kumanjayi Little Baby.
Our verdict
False. The details are fake or unrelated.
AAP FACTCHECK - Foreign-run Facebook pages are sharing fake news reports about the alleged murder of a five-year-old girl in an outback town.
Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been charged with murdering Kumanjayi Little Baby, the name used at her family’s request in line with cultural tradition, who disappeared from an Indigenous town camp near Alice Springs.
Several Facebook pages run from Vietnam have been sharing fake reports, unrelated photos and fabricated police quotes in an apparent bid to boost their own engagement.
Before Kumanjayi Little Baby's body was found on April 30, several posts claimed that police had raided a property and found a hidden basement where they heard "laboured breathing".
One post features a composite image depicting Kumanjayi Little Baby, her alleged murderer and a photo of a brick room with pipes and a boiler next to a makeshift bed.
"Police have just uncovered a hidden basement entrance concealed beneath a worn, tattered rug inside a property linked to Jefferson Lewis — the prime suspect in the abduction of 5-year-old … [Kumanjayi Little Baby] in Alice Springs," the Facebook post reads.
The post links users to an external website with a blog article that repeats the false claim.
At the time of the Facebook posts, Northern Territory Police had not announced any raids on properties linked to Lewis or the discovery of a hidden basement.
The account behind the post is called UK Talk Zone, but Facebook transparency details show that all 15 accounts running the page are based in Vietnam.
The image of the basement is from reports covering a 2011 basement kidnapping case in the US city of Philadelphia.
Other Facebook posts falsely claim that Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett issued a statement about Kumanjayi Little Baby's disappearance.
"BREAKING NEWS – 15 MINUTES AGO: “WE HAVE FOUND TRACES OF THE PERPETRATOR” — Krissy Barrett, Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, has shocked the nation by announcing a major breakthrough in the investigation into the abduction …" one post reads.
The post directs users to an external website with a blog article that repeats the false claim.
It was posted by a page called AU News Today, but Facebook transparency data again shows it is run by a user in Vietnam.
There's no record of Ms Barrett's supposed statement or in any public statement from the Australian Federal Police about the case at the time the post was shared.
It is not the first time foreign-run Facebook pages have shared fake stories about high-profile cases involving the disappearance of children in Australia.
AAP FactCheck previously debunked fake news stories about the disappearance of Gus Lamont in South Australia.
Experts have previously told AAP FactCheck that disinformation actors often make false claims about high-profile news events and celebrities to drive clicks to external websites, which can be laden with ads.
13YARN 13 92 76
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
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