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Good morning!
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The video of 9-year-old Alexandra Opoku who had cancer begging for financial assistance was blasted across social media earlier this year through targeted advertising. "I don't want to die," she said. It was all a lie.
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A new report shows that through the scheme over $536,000 as of June, a figure that only accounts for the donations that were posted on the website attached to the video have been siphoned by scammers.
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Below are the tech stories and news you need to know to start your day, carefully curated by Technext.
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Summary of the news
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- A new report shows that Alexandra Opoku, the 9-year-old who pops up before you watch a YouTube is a scam
- The Nigeria authorities have told Google to exclude certain groups from using its products
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Startups from Central Africa have raised less than 1% of funding in Africa since 2019, a new report shows
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- Elon Musk has sold nearly $7 billion in Tesla shares
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The Alexandra Opoku empathy scam
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The video of 9-year-old Alexandra Opoku who had cancer begging for financial assistance was blasted across social media earlier this year through targeted advertising. A new report shows that it was a lie, a scheme that siphoned over $536,000 as of June, a figure that only accounts for the donations that were posted on the website attached to the video.
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According to DUBAWA, the website that carried out the report, Netiv Halev the alias company with which the scam was conducted also wiped out the accounts of some of the donors.
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In cases where the request ends unsuccessfully, an automated follow-up mail is sent to the donor to try it again. The user has to then start from the beginning, and any attempt to check the website for previous activity is rendered futile.
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Netiv Halev says it's in partnership with Chance Letikva for the denotation. Both are scam organisations.
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Nigeria move to restrict Google
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Last week, Nigeria’s information minister, Lai Mohammed, told Google executives in a meeting in Abuja that certain groups, some of which the government had declared illegal, should no longer be allowed to use Google platforms. He maintained that some of these groups have been labelled as terrorists and could thus jeopardise national integrity, TechCabal reports.
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“Channels and e-mails containing names of banned groups and their affiliates should not be allowed on Google platforms,” Mohammed said explicitly.
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According to the minister, the government is particularly interested in curtailing IPOB’s online activity, asserting that the regulatory attempt was birthed from the need to protect internet users from the harmful effects of social media, especially as the 2023 presidential election approaches.
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Central African startups raised less than 1% of funding in Africa
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Central Africa startups in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Republic – Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé & Principe raised only about $82 million since 2019 (2019-2022). This represents less than 0.8% of the total funding raised during the review period, according to a report by Africa: The Big Deal!
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Technext reports that the largest country in the region in terms of both population (105 million+) and GDP (~$55 billion) raised $24 million in 2019.
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Congo, with a population of 5.6 million+ and a GDP of $25.897 billion, tops the regional list. Yet the total amount in 2022 raised was raised by one single startup, Jambo. It successfully closed a $7.5 million seed round in February, and a $30 million Series A round in May.
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Elon Musk sells nearly $7 billion in Tesla shares
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Musk appears to be selling the shares to stock up on cash in case he’s forced to go through on his $44 billion Twitter acquisition. The executive tweeted Tuesday evening that he was done selling for the moment.
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“In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock,” tweeted Musk.
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Over the last 10 months, Musk has sold around $32 billion worth of stock in Tesla.
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Latest in funding
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Other stories we are following
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