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Fact-Checking: TikTok Video on Mali's Lithium Production is Misleading
Mali is not yet a lithium producer, although exploitation is scheduled to begin in August. A TikTok video published on May 22, 2024, claiming that Mali is the world's fifth-largest lithium producer, is inaccurate. The video shows a construction site with workers in uniform and…
By Rédaction
1 min read
The video shows a construction site with workers in uniform and scaffolding bearing the caption "Mali, the world's fifth lithium producer." The post was saved more than 1,200 times and viewed more than 10,000 times on TikTok.
Journal.Africa verified this claim and found it to be false. A Google search using the keywords "Is Mali a lithium producer?" revealed a report from the YouTube channel Mali-Online TV, dated September 17, 2023, which indicates that Mali plans to exploit lithium at the Goulamina site. The report specifies that the construction site will be completed by the end of April 2024, with production planned for the final quarter of 2024.
Furthermore, a reverse image search confirmed that the images in the video come from the Goulamina site.
Finally, a search using the keywords "Which countries are lithium producers in the world?" led to a 2022 Courrier International publication, which mentions that Mali plans to produce lithium, but exploitation has not yet begun. An RFI article from May 16, 2024, confirms that Mali plans to begin lithium exploitation in August 2024 and is not yet a producer.
Freddy Bin Sengi
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