Misleading Claim About the Chief Commissioner Fleeing to the United States

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It has been one month since the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) began its summit. The 500 member team has finalized its agendas, while the final summit, expected to bring together around 4,000 participants, is scheduled for August 20, 2026. Amid this ongoing process, social media discussions have increasingly focused on the Chief Commissioner, Mesfin Araya.

Social media pages and commentators አዲስ መለከት, Zene Manchester and others, circulated viral claims alleging that Professor Mesfin Araya, Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission had "fled the country to the US ahead of upcoming decisions" The image shows Professor Mesfin Araya speaking at an event. Large Amharic text overlaid on the image claims that he has fled to the United States.

The CARD fact checking team verified the claim circulating on social media that Professor Mesfin Araya, Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission, had fled to the United States.

To verify the claim, the team reached out to the National Dialogue Commission and also checked other sources. The team tried to confirm whether Professor Mesfin had traveled to the US and the reason for his travel.

The Team found that Professor Mesfin Araya did travel to the United States. However, the reason for his travel was different from what was claimed on social media. The team confirmed that he traveled to the US because of a family bereavement.

Verdict: Misleading

The claim circulating on social media since the evening of August 17, 2026 alleging that the Commissioner had fled to the United States, is MISLEADING. While Professor Mesfin Araya did travel to the US, the reason was a family bereavement, not to flee from upcoming decisions.