A spokesperson for the Clara Lionel Foundation told BuzzFeed News the entirety of the story reported in Barbados Today and Global News is "untrue and completely inaccurate".
The Clara Lionel Foundation, founded by Rihanna, has said that a story about the singer donating millions of dollars to Sierra Leone's mudslide victims is "untrue and completely inaccurate".
The false claims appeared on a website called Global News in an article called "Rihanna donates whopping sum of money to Sierra Leone's mudslide victims". The mudslide has been described as one of Africa's worst flooding-related disasters in years.
In the article, the website claimed that Rihanna wanted to support the rescue, recovery, and cleanup effort in the West African country. Global News also included quotes in its article, which it claimed were from Rihanna:
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It is a humanitarian gesture an act of solidarity and support for a brotherly affected people. My thoughts and prayers are with our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone.
My initiative ClaraLionel Foundation (CLF) is donating $2M to Sierra Leone to assist and house victims of the mudslide in Freetown that has rendered people homeless. The fund is intended to provide shelter, food, clothing, and medicines.
The false story, which has been shared hundreds of times on social media, was also covered by news site Barbados Today, but has since been removed
"Like many around the world, we are devastated by the tragic mudslide in Sierra Leone," the spokesperson said.
"Yet, we have to address that the entirety of the story reported in Barbados Today and later re-posted on Global News is untrue and completely inaccurate. The Barbados Today story has since been removed to reflect this."