\u201cVisiting a country where cases of child kidnapping are reported daily, and where the police and security agencies often fail to protect citizens, was clearly not a wise decision,\u201d it adds.<\/p>\n
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Screenshot showing the false X post, taken on January 29, 2026<\/p>\n
The post, shared more than 800 times, contains two screenshots from the Lagos stream, purportedly showing IShowSpeed with facial injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The images were shared elsewhere on X<\/a> in English and in several other languages, including\u00a0 French<\/a>, Arabic<\/a>, Spanish<\/a>, Hausa<\/a> and Zulu<\/a>.<\/p>\n IShowSpeed in Africa<\/p>\n On December 29, 2025, IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., launched his first African tour spanning 20 countries in 28 days.<\/p>\n During this tour<\/a>, the YouTube and Twitch star, who rose to fame 10 years ago through gaming content and subsequent travels around the world, attracted large crowds at nearly every stop (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n In Lagos, he began his visit on January 21<\/a> at the popular Balogun Market, in the heart of the city\u2019s Lagos Island district. Surrounded by bodyguards, he was heckled by a crowd demanding money from him (archived\u00a0here<\/a>).<\/p>\n However, the images purportedly showing the YouTuber with an injured face have been manipulated.<\/p>\n Doctored images<\/p>\n By conducting keyword searches<\/a> for IShowSpeed on YouTube, AFP Fact Check found the\u00a0original video<\/a>, which was livestreamed on January 21 on the influencer’s main account (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n We reviewed the nearly five-and-a-half-hour video and pinpointed the exact moments used to create the doctored images, notably at 4:21:32<\/a> and 4:21:36<\/a>.<\/p>\n A comparison of the viral screenshots with the original stream footage reveals signs of manipulation: in the original video, IShowSpeed has no facial injuries.<\/p>\n First comparison showing the false post (left) and the original YouTube livestream<\/p>\n Second comparison showing the false post (left) and the original YouTube livestream <\/p>\n Additional keyword searches led us to a different moment at 11\u201954\u2019\u2019, when one of the streamer’s bodyguards warns him about certain hand signs associated with gangs, after IShowSpeed\u00a0greeted<\/a> a passerby.<\/p>\n “Be careful, that’s a gang sign,” the bodyguard is heard saying.<\/p>\n Screenshot showing the transcript where IShowSpeed was warned about a gang sign, taken January 26, 2026<\/p>\n Although mass kidnappings<\/a> are frequent in Nigeria, often carried out by criminal gangs locally known as “bandits” seeking ransom, nothing in the livestream, the streamer\u2019s social media accounts, or any credible media reports indicates that IShowSpeed was attacked during his Lagos visit (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n AFP journalists based in Lagos also confirmed that “during the time we spent with him, from approximately 1:30 pm to 6:00 pm local time (1230-1700 GMT) — although there were times when we were not present — we did not witness any attack nor hear anything to suggest that an assault had taken place”.<\/p>\n Previous attacks<\/p>\n While rumours of an attack in Lagos are unfounded, IShowSpeed has been targeted during previous visits around the world.<\/p>\n On January 17, during an earlier stop on his African tour, he was hit<\/a> with water bottles during a football match in Algeria, forcing him to abruptly end the livestream and evacuate the stadium (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n In another incident on July 3, 2024, the streamer was attacked<\/a> outside a shop in Norway (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n “It was inhuman. They pulled my hair, someone jumped on me [\u2026] Norway, sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be back. I love all my fans in Norway, but I have to go to the hospital,” IShowSpeed said<\/a> live after the incident (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n![\"<span>First](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/76db4b4704368ca758b4fb11400a22e6.jpeg\"\/)
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