Monday 19 October 2026 · Edition of the day

Current editionPast editions →

The Skeptic's Daily

The day's biggest stories, taken apart. For each one: what is actually established, what is only asserted, the questions worth asking — and a plausibility score for the central claim, given everything currently known.

Stories
2
Average plausibility
80%
How to read the score
It rates how well the core claim is evidenced — not how important the story is, nor whether it is good or bad news.
RegionAllGlobalAfricaNorth AmericaSouth AmericaAsia-PacificEuropeMiddle East
TopicAllPoliticsConflict & SecurityBusinessScienceHealth
01HealthAfrica

Kenya reports eight Ebola cases as regional outbreak widens

Two outlets carry the Kenyan tally, while DW reports spread to an eighth province in DR Congo.

Al Jazeera and DW report that Kenyan health authorities have recorded eight Ebola infections. Al Jazeera says authorities consider the latest patient likely to have been exposed to Kenya's first case. DW also reports that the disease has spread to an eighth province in DR Congo.

What holds up

  • ✓Both outlets report the same Kenyan total of eight infections, attributing it to health authorities.
  • ✓DW explicitly reports spread to an eighth DR Congo province, although no second supplied item verifies that detail.

What doesn't yet

  • ?The proposed exposure link to Kenya's first case is described as likely, not established.
  • ?The excerpts provide no laboratory results, case definitions or detailed regional surveillance data; the matching Kenyan totals may reflect the same official information.

Ask before you share

  • →What testing and case definitions underpin the reported totals?
  • →Has contact tracing established the latest patient's exposure route?

Sources & original reporting

  1. [1]Al Jazeera · Published 19 Oct 2026 · aljazeera.com
  2. [2]DW · Published 18 Oct 2026 · dw.com
02Conflict & SecurityAfrica

Kenyan pastor faces verdict over alleged child-starvation orders

The BBC reports that Paul Mackenzie faces a verdict, with prosecutors alleging he directed further deaths from prison.

BBC News reports that Kenyan pastor Paul Mackenzie faces a verdict over accusations that he ordered parents to starve their children to death. Prosecutors allege that he lured the latest victims to their deaths through notes written from his prison cell. The supplied item does not report a verdict.

What holds up

  • ✓The BBC identifies Mackenzie as facing a verdict, rather than reporting a conviction in this proceeding.
  • ✓The alleged use of prison notes is explicitly attributed to prosecutors, not presented as a court finding.

What doesn't yet

  • ?The underlying allegations come from the prosecution; the excerpt includes neither the defence's response nor the evidence tested in court.
  • ?The summary gives no victim count, precise charges or verdict timetable.

Ask before you share

  • →What evidence links the alleged prison notes to Mackenzie and the deaths?
  • →What has the defence argued, and has the court now delivered its verdict?

Sources & original reporting

  1. [1]BBC News · Published 19 Oct 2026 · bbc.co.uk