Africa is slowly splitting in two – but this 'crack' in Kenya has little to do with it

A widely reported crack in the Rift Valley was not formed by tectonic movement, but by erosion of soil from recent heavy rains

Global media outlets have been abuzz recently about a large "crack" which appeared in the Kenyan Rift Valley. Many of these news pieces have tried to get to the bottom of what caused this feature, with many reports concluding that it was evidence for the African continent actively splitting into two. However, many articles cited limited expert comment, much of which was taken out of context and was based on minimal hard evidence. Other articles fed directly off previous reports, propagating unsubstantiated rumours and losing sight of original sources.