{"id":846097,"date":"2025-11-12T18:20:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T18:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/?p=846097"},"modified":"2025-11-12T10:40:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T10:40:01","slug":"when-algorithms-bless-the-scammers-how-facebook-and-tiktok-are-failing-ethiopias-poor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/2025\/11\/12\/when-algorithms-bless-the-scammers-how-facebook-and-tiktok-are-failing-ethiopias-poor\/","title":{"rendered":"When algorithms bless the scammers: How Facebook and TikTok are failing Ethiopia\u2019s poor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Screenshot from Eyoha Media\u2019<\/a>s YouTube channel, showing two hooded guests facing away from the camera during a segment on disputed online donations. Fair use.<\/p><\/div>\n

A viral<\/b> act<\/strong> of \u201ckindness\u201d<\/b><\/h3>\n

A TikTok clip<\/a> began circulating, filmed inside a parked car near Bole, Addis Ababa. The camera faced inward. <\/span>A man called Tamru sat in the passenger seat, shoulders hunched, voice low, describing illness and daily struggle.\u00a0<\/span>The man behind the camera never showed his face. When Tamru finished, a hand entered the frame and pressed a folded wad of cash into his palm. <\/span><\/p>\n

The clip first appeared on<\/span> @melektegnaw_<\/a> (about 1.7 million followers), a popular TikTok handle that seemingly encourages charity. There are\u00a0countless others built on the same formula: emotion as the hook, the subject as the thumbnail, a small cash handoff as \u201cproof,\u201d and clicks that translate into engagement and revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the recording, Tamru asked if there might be longer-term help that could put him back on his feet. The two exchanged phone numbers and a bank account. The man told him to keep praying \u2014 that the money came through prayer, and that he was merely a messenger connecting givers and the needy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The scene hinted at transformation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The money moved, but the promise did not<\/h3>\n

After the TikTok clip went viral, people mobilized \u2014 and so did the money. Within weeks, more than USD 1,576 (about ETB 260,000)<\/span> moved through a bank account in Tamru\u2019s name, while an estimated USD 2,120 to 2,425<\/span>1 (about ETB <\/span>350,000 to 400,000) went to accounts he says were tied to associates of the masked organizer. Much of it came from members of the Ethiopian diaspora who believed they were lifting a stranger out of poverty. The funds were meant to buy Tamru a <\/span>Bajaj, a three-wheeled taxi that could have put him back to work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, Tamru recalls being told over the phone by the same man who met him in person \u2014 the faceless figure in the earlier clip who filmed him handing over the wad of cash shown on TikTok to send more money for \u2018tax clearance,\u2019 \u2018transport fees,\u2019 \u2018processing,\u2019 and even \u2018frozen account\u2019 penalties. By the end, he estimates he wired USD 1,212 (about ETB 200,000) from funds deposited into his own account. Only after the promises kept shifting did he take his story public, sitting for a nearly three-hour interview on Eyoha Media<\/a>, a YouTube channel with a large audience, hoping exposure might force answers.<\/p>\n

The men behind the masks<\/h3>\n

In that interview, Tamru never mentioned @melektegnaw_, even though the clip first appeared there. Instead, he said the man behind the camera was \u2018Baladeraw\u2019 \u2014 of the TikTok channel @baladeraw \u2014 and added that when the host phoned him, he thought he recognized the voice.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Baladeraw<\/a>\u2019s \u201ccharity\u201d brand mixes faith, emotion \u2014 and opacity. Screenshot from Baladeraw<\/a>\u2019s TikTok page. Fair use.<\/p><\/div>\n

From my review, both channels use the same staging: hoods up, the camera fixed behind the \u201cgiver,\u201d and slogans printed across sweatshirts \u2014 \u201cthe trustee\u201d (\u1263\u1208\u12a0\u12f0\u122b\u12cd) and \u201cthe messenger\u201d (\u1218\u120d\u12ad\u1270\u129b\u12cd). They frame anonymity as religious humility.\u00a0It remains unclear whether this involves two men, a coordinated group, or one operator using multiple identities.<\/p>\n

\"\"

A screenshot from @melektegnaw<\/a>_ \u00a0on TikTok, whose viral \u201ccharity\u201d clips turn compassion into clicks amid growing scrutiny over how donations are handled. Fair use.<\/p><\/div>\n

What is clear is the pattern. Both accounts follow the same template: a humanitarian persona across Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok who appears faceless, selfless, and devout. Each video traces the same emotional arc \u2014 a vulnerable subject, an anonymous \u201crescuer,\u201d and a small on-camera handout \u2014 crafted to look like spontaneous charity while evading scrutiny.<\/span><\/p>\n

Faith, optics, and profit<\/b><\/h3>\n

On Facebook and TikTok, a stream of handheld, emotional clips does most of the legitimizing. Platforms reward the optics; audiences read them as proof. A cursory look at <\/span>Baladeraw turns up a Facebook page<\/a> labeled <\/span>\u201cCharity Organization\u201d<\/span> and a website<\/a> \u2014 trappings of credibility with little visible oversight.<\/span><\/p>\n

That credibility converts to cash. <\/span>Baladeraw reports raising<\/a> more <\/span>about USD 10,958.96 (more than ETB 1.5 million)<\/span>\u00a0through <\/span>Chapa, an Ethiopian-licensed payment gateway regulated by the National Bank of Ethiopia as a \u201cpayment system operator.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, both men\u2019s TikTok presences blur personal and fundraising content. TikTok\u2019s own rules state<\/a> that fundraisers must be verified organizations \u2014 with registration, a website, and at least 1,000 followers \u2014 and, in some regions, additional tax documents. Yet these creators solicit donations as private users, outside TikTok\u2019s verified fundraising tools, raising basic questions of compliance and transparency that the platform has not addressed.<\/p>\n

On Facebook, Baladeraw\u2019s \u201cCharity Organization\u201d page remains active, even though Meta\u2019s policies explicitly ban<\/a> charity fraud and scams. Why a masked operator with no public accounting can present as a charity remains unclear.<\/p>\n

Anatomy of a confession that wasn\u2019t<\/b><\/h3>\n

In a follow-up, Eyoha Media brought in<\/a> both @melektegnaw_ and \u201cBaladeraw,\u201d hoping to settle the story. But instead of pressing for documents or receipts, the host guided Tamru toward retracting<\/a> his accusations. Identities were obscured: no on-screen names or identifiers appeared; both fundraisers wore hoods, kept their backs to the camera, and only their voices were audible. No documentation was presented or reviewed. The hooded fundraisers walked away without answering how much was raised, who handled it, or whether any of it reached the beneficiary.<\/p>\n

On his website, Baladeraw also embeds a clip from his interview with EBS, one of Ethiopia\u2019s largest private broadcasters \u2014 hooded, facing away<\/a> from the camera, his voice the only part revealed.<\/span>\u00a0The hosts never\u00a0addressed the obvious: anonymity may be defensible when one gives their own money, but not when soliciting the public\u2019s. Ethiopian law<\/a> requires registered charities to disclose finances, keep records, and file reports. Masked fundraisers with donation links cannot claim exemption. Yet no one asked about this. The spectacle continued: the benefactor unseen, the gaze unflinching, the suffering on display.<\/span><\/p>\n

The unmasking<\/b><\/h3>\n

In a late twist, the\u00a0person behind @melektegnaw_ \u00a0<\/strong>unmasked<\/a> himself on Seifu on EBS, Ethiopia\u2019s top late-night show, calling his work \u201cGod\u2019s work.\u201d He blamed impostors using look-alike accounts, said he posts beneficiaries\u2019 own bank numbers so money goes \u2018directly\u2019 to them, and cited a 20,000 ETB (about USD 120) diversion he claims was the fault of an intermediary. He denied taking commissions, describing himself as a messenger who shares \u2018verified\u2019 cases and runs small drives<\/a> like the \u2018100 birr (about USD 0.60) challenge.<\/p>\n

As in the Eyoha Media and EBS appearances, Seifu let him pass unchallenged, skipping basic questions of accountability and transparency. None of his claims were independently verified, and key issues remained unanswered: who verifies these cases, what records exist, and who is responsible when funds disappear.<\/p>\n

The bigger story: Platforms, poverty, and profit<\/b><\/h3>\n

Ethiopia\u2019s social media crisis is often framed around hate speech and misinformation. But scams thrive too \u2014 especially in under-served languages. In April 2023, AFP\u2019s Ethiopia fact-check desk exposed<\/a> a viral in Oromo Facebook post falsely promising \u201cfree travel to America\u201d for two million Africans; the US Embassy confirmed it was a scam, and the link led to a job-search app, not visas.<\/p>\n

Globally, the same pattern persists. Internal Meta documents reviewed by Reuters revealed<\/a> that about 10 percent of its 2024 revenue was projected to come from ads tied to scams or banned goods. The company estimated users see 15 billion scam ads a day. In 2023, UK authorities reported<\/a> that 54 percent of all payment scams involved Meta platforms.<\/p>\n

These aren\u2019t isolated incidents. They are symptoms of an attention economy where fraud scales faster than oversight \u2014 and where the platforms profiting from engagement have little incentive to act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ethiopia\u2019s social media crisis is often framed around hate speech and misinformation. But scams thrive too \u2014 especially in under-served languages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1029,"featured_media":846243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1449,243,1357,701,114,259,15,279,282],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-846097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amharic","category-development","category-economics-business","category-english","category-ethiopia","category-human-rights","category-sub-saharan-africa","category-technology","category-youth"],"acf":[],"geo":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1029"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846097"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":846252,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846097\/revisions\/846252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}