[FAKE NEWS] – Do you like sharing fake news, perhaps you should share this instead

A string of WhatsApp-messages are causing panic all over.

1. The first WhatsApp sent was an individual who sent a message claiming that Boko Haram, on some revenge mission in the Eastern Cape, are going to all primary schools and even universities to abduct girls.
2. The second is sent shortly thereafter to make people believe that the first WhatsApp was no hoax, a woman claims that one of her directors went to school to pick up her child as there was a shooting where children were shot and killed.
3. A third message is sent wherein an anxious man calls on his ‘Tjomma’ to assist and claims that it was confirmed that several schools were being attacked and that other schools needed to be notified that they should close their doors.
4. A message is sent to dispatch emergency personnel to Klopperpark Primary School.

https://twitter.com/EducationGP/status/1169192962603061250?s=20

Explained: People need to understand that there are a lot of fake or unconfirmed news being circulated, but sometimes there are certain segments in these posts that do carry some weight.

Point and case: There was an article published by our sister newspaper, Bedfordview & Edenvale News –  Video report: Parents rush to pick up children following unconfirmed reports of schools being under threat – This article however, does not relate  to any of the other messages circulated in the string of fake WhatsApp-messages and should be viewed as an isolated incident, even though the reports in the article remained unconfirmed.

With the recent kidnapping of Amy’Leigh de Jager (6) people are so susceptible to believe any unverified message sent into the digital sphere, in fact they will also share the hysteria because, the anonymous sender claimed it was confirmed and thus surely it must be right?

Here are some pointers to verify the validity of questionable posts that you might receive or stumble across:

• Visit reliable mainstream media websites (Any Caxton publisher will suffice) if they did not carry such a big story, then surely you need to question why
• Do a quick Google search to see whether any mainstream media has deemed this circulating post a hoax
• When searching on Google, add words such as hoax or fake news to your search query
• Look at the composition of the article/post and take note of the words as well as the spelling, more often than not, you can see just by reading the post that it could be untrustworthy
• Make sure about the publisher and read the about section on dodgy websites – descriptions in this section sometimes state that content contains or uses satire
• Does the person circulating the post identify himself, from which organisation he/she is and have YOU phoned to verify the allegations?

Mr Jaco Kirk from Corfuset Security in Ermelo recently shared the following:

There’s a message that was sent out about children that are getting shot at at schools and parents need to be on the lookout for people acting suspiciously.

Yes, I do believe that parents have to be on the lookout for suspicious people and have to be vigilant, but no schools that we know of are being attacked.

I am a member of several national groups and around the country, if such a thing was to happen, I will be the first to inform everyone on our groups.