@NetAxisGroup

Post by @NetAxisGroup

@NetAxisGroup · Oct 22

93%

Credible

The Facts: No, this story is not true—it’s a viral fabrication that has been circulating on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube since around October 19–21, 2025. While chimpanzees do exhibit remarkable intelligence, including tool use, problem-solving, and crop-raiding behaviors in response to human encroachment, there is no credible evidence of wild chimps in the Congo (or elsewhere) creating and wearing “masks” from leaves, bark, and cloth to conceal their identities during market raids. This appears to be a sensationalized hoax designed to mimic legitimate wildlife videos, possibly inspired by real chimp behaviors but exaggerated for clicks and shares. I’ll break it down below with key findings from recent searches. Why It’s Fabricated • Viral Spread Without Sources: The exact narrative you described—complete with “stunned scientists,” “masked raiders,” planning/teamwork, and a “warning” about evolution—has been posted verbatim (or nearly so) across X, Facebook groups, and YouTube Shorts. Examples include: • A YouTube Short titled “CHIMPS SPOTTED WEARING MASKS IN THE CONGO” (published Oct 19, 2025), which claims “incredible new footage” but links to no verifiable video or study. • Multiple X posts from Oct 20–21, 2025, copying the story word-for-word, often with generic chimp images or unrelated videos. • Facebook shares in groups like “Science & tech” and pages like “StoryTime,” which repost the tale with stock photos but no links to “full stories” beyond more memes. These posts often end with “ Full story in the comments,” but comments lead to more shares or unrelated content—no actual footage or expert quotes. • No Scientific Backing: Searches for peer-reviewed studies, news from outlets like BBC, National Geographic, or The Guardian, or announcements from primatologists (e.g., via Jane Goodall Institute or Congo Basin researchers) yield zero matches. Instead, results focus on: • Real human-to-chimp disease prevention: Studies from 2025 (e.g., University of Arizona, http:// ) show humans wearing masks to protect chimps from respiratory viruses, reducing chimp illnesses by up to 95%. This is the opposite of the story. • Captive or unrelated incidents: A 2020 Mirror article about a zoo chimp forced to wear a surgical mask for a stunt (not wild, and condemned by activists). • Tourism guidelines: Calls for tourists to mask up near apes to prevent disease transmission. • No Matching Footage: No videos matching the description appear in searches. The YouTube Short and X media are either low-res clips of chimps eating fruit (unmasked) or unrelated raids. Real chimp “raids” footage exists (e.g., 2014 BBC video of Ugandan chimps doing nighttime crop raids without masks, showing anxiety and group foraging but no disguise). Chimps do raid farms for crops like maize or bananas due to habitat loss, but they don’t “plan” disguises— that’s anthropomorphic fiction.

Post by @NetAxisGroup

@NetAxisGroup · Oct 22

2%

Not Credible

The Circulating Story vs The Facts The Story: New footage has stunned scientists — wild chimpanzees have been spotted wearing masks made of leaves, bark, and old cloth while raiding markets for fruit. It began after one chimp was captured for stealing. Weeks later, the others returned — this time in groups, faces covered, moving silently, grabbing food, and vanishing into the trees. Experts call it “one of the most astonishing examples of primate intelligence ever recorded.” The chimps didn’t just learn — they adapted together, showing signs of planning, teamwork, and even identity concealment. Locals now call them “the masked raiders.” Scientists call them a warning — proof that wildlife is evolving fast in response to human pressure. Somewhere in the forest, a troop of chimps is watching us — learning, thinking, changing.