The 'Guinness World Records’ did not acknowledge Sudanese model Nyakim Getwech as the 'Queen of Darkness' - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 30, 2021
An image of a model is being shared on social media claiming that the Guinness Book of Records had acknowledged South Sudanese model Nyakim Getwech as the ‘Queen of Darkness’. This post claims that the Sudanese model ‘Nyakim’ has entered the Guinness book of records for having the darkest skin tone on Earth. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of Nyakim Getwech whom the Guinness Book of Records had acknowledged as the ‘Queen of Darkness’.
Fact: The photo shared in the post shows Florence Baitio, an aspiring model from Australia, not the South-Sudan model Nyakim Getwech. The ‘Guinness World Record’ does not monitor records for ‘skin tone’. The ‘Guinness World Record’ had also issued a clarification that they do not monitor records for skin tone. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether the ‘Guinness World Records’ monitors the records based on skin tone, we could not find any such information on the ‘Guinness World Records’ website. In August 2020, when a similar claim went viral on social media, the ‘Guinness World Records’ through a tweet clarified that it does not monitor records for skin tone. The user (@iChopTweets) to whom ‘Guinness World Record’ had replied, also tweeted saying that he had even contacted Nyakim Gatwech regarding the news and stated that it is ‘misinformation’. The user even attached the screenshot of his conversation with Nyakim Gatwech in his tweet. Nyakim Gatwech is an American model of South Sudanese descent. She has attracted attention for her dark skin colour and has achieved significant popularity on Instagram.
I spoke to her too and couldn't confirm the record. Apologies for the wrong information, nevertheless she deserves all the recognition. pic.twitter.com/yGQiIhJayx
On observing the images shared on the Nyakim Gatwech Instagram handle, we can confirm that the model shown in the photo is not the Sudanese model Nyakim Gatwech. When we used reverse image search to find more about the photos shared in the post, a similar photo was found shared in an Instagram handle on 04 December 2020. This Instagram user had mentioned the model’s name as Florence Baitio. Florence Baitio is an Australia-based model, currently working in the Muuma Model agency. A video with similar visuals was found published on the Florence Baitio Instagram handle. More details about Florence Baitio can be found here and here.
On comparing the pictures of Florence Baitio and Nyakim Hatwech, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post shows Australian model Florence Baitio, not the Sudanese model Nyakim Gatwech.
Earlier, when the real photo of Nyakim Gatwech was shared with a similar claim that she had entered the Guinness book of records for having the darkest skin tone on Earth, FACTLY published a fact-check article debunking that claim.
To sum it up, a photo of Australian model Florence Baitio is shared to falsely claim that ‘Guinness World Records’ acknowledging Sudanese model Nyakim Getwech as the ‘Queen of Darkness’.