Major conflicts and insecurity in parts of Africa are frequently misrepresented online. A video and image widely shared on social media claim to show a toddler trying to rouse his dead mother, who, according to various posts, was killed in either Nigeria, the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or Sudan. But the claims are false; the woman in the clip is asleep, not dead. She and her child belong to the Hadzabe, a small nomadic tribe in Tanzania.
"The worst crime against humanity is happening in Nigeria. The terr0rists k!lled his mother & the baby was seen trying to wake his mother up ( sic)," reads the caption of a photo shared on Facebook in Nigeria.
In the image, a woman wearing a blue patterned dress can be seen lying on the ground outdoors while a child leans over her.
The post has been shared more than 500 times since it was published on July 30, 2026.
Many comments under the post offer condolences and call on international organisations to come to the aid of victims of violence in Nigeria.
Nigeria's decade-long war against jihadists and bandits has led to several cases of mass abduction of students, especially girls, from schools and the use of women as suicide bombers (archived here and here).
However, some users questioned the accuracy of the post.
"This happened in Sudan if am not mistaken not in Nigeria let's do well to verify info's before sharing ( sic)," reads one comment.
Other posts on X shared a video of the same pair, showing the toddler nudging the woman, trying to wake her.
One dated August 17, 2026, claimed the footage was taken in Eastern Congo and appealed to the international community to help.
"And all are happened in the eyes of world community, UN Human rights organizations. its a shame to see how failed to save these innocent congolese in Eastern Congo who hunted down as if are not human being. See how the kid is touching on mother thinking she a live ( sic)," the post reads.
In eastern DRC, the anti-government M23 armed group has taken over territories, including parts of the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu. The conflict between the M23 and government troops has displaced about seven million people by the end of 2023, according to UN estimates (archived here and here).
Another post from July 27, 2026, claimed the scene was filmed in Sudan.
"The reality in Sudan is heartbreaking We need to speak up (sic)," reads the post, alongside a text overlay on the clip blaming the "UAE-backed RSF" for purportedly murdering the woman in front of her one-year-old child.
Sudan has been caught up in a civil war since April 2023 due to a power tussle for territorial control between the army and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Recent fighting in the Kordofan region has killed civilians and displaced communities (archived here, here and here).
However, these claims are false.
AFP Fact Check conducted a reverse image search using keyframes extracted from the clip and found a high-definition version of the clip published on a YouTube channel called "HadzabeTribeFamily" on August 1, 2026 (archived here).
A search for the word "Hadzabe" on Facebook led to an account that posted the video earlier on July 22, 2026 (archived here).
"A Mother's Absence Creates a Scary Moment for Her Little Son," reads the video's caption.
The video matches the footage in the false posts -- a woman is lying on the ground while a child is leaning over her and trying to prod her awake.
According to the Facebook account's bio, its mission is to showcase the "unique lifestyle of the Hadzabe people".
The National Geographic Society describes the "Hadzabe" or "Hadza" tribe as a hunter-gatherer ethnic group based in northern Tanzania. The community, with about 1,300 members, keeps no livestock and neither grows nor stores food (archived here).
Days later, on August 3, the account posted a follow-up video, captioned: "Finally, Mom Wakes Up After A Deep And Peaceful Sleep" (archived here).
In the video, the woman wakes up, lifts the child into her arms, and walks away from the camera.
An AFP journalist based in Tanzania contacted the phone number listed on the account's bio.
A man who introduced himself as a tour guide called "Samson" from the Manyara region in northern Tanzania said that the clips showed the lifestyle of the Hadzabe tribe.
He added that the language spoken in the video was Hadza. According to his translation of the audio in the video, the mother says to her child, "What's wrong? Let's go home...walk, let's go," before she scoops him up and walks off.
AFP Fact Check has debunked various claims related to the insecurity in Nigeria, Sudan and eastern DRC.