A US professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is accusing technology giants Facebook and Google of promoting false information on their platforms about the presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In a post on Medium Ethan Zuckerman shared screengrabs of advertisements on the two platforms declaring Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, the ruling party’s candidate, as the winner.

The electoral commission said provisional results of last week’s election were delayed because less than half the ballots had arrived.

The authorities have promised credible elections.

Mr. Shadary and opposition politicians Martin Fayulu and Felix Tshisekedi are the main candidates in the race to succeed Mr President Joseph Kabila.

The influential Catholic Church, which deployed 40,000 observers during the 30 December election, said that it knows who won the election. Its statement has been condemned by officials in Mr Kabila’s government.

From Daily Nation.