‘Fake news!’ Home affairs reacts to rumour of ‘discontinuation’ of green ID book

The department of home affairs has taken to Twitter to quash rumours that the green barcoded ID books are being “discontinued”.

It posted an image of what appears to be an official home affairs announcement that the ID books would be phased out by April 1.

“[Fake News] Take note of fake news regarding the discontinuation of the Green Barcoded ID! The @HomeAffairsSA HAS NOT announced any plans to discontinue the Green ID Book! (sic)” the department tweeted.

Take note of #fake news regarding the discontinuation of the #GreenBarcodedID document. The #DHA has not announced any plans to discontinue the #GreenBarcodedID pic.twitter.com/oClOyA23qt

— HomeAffairsSA 🇿🇦 (@HomeAffairsSA) January 24, 2020

This is not the first time that such rumours have surfaced and had to be addressed by the department.

At the beginning of 2018, the department condemned the spreading of false reports on social media about the lifespan of the green barcoded ID books, saying the department’s offices have been inundated with enquiries from concerned citizens.

“These reports, which first appeared towards the end of 2017, masquerade as a notice from the department of home affairs (DHA), and claim that 31 March 2018 is the termination date for using the old green-barcoded ID books. This had an effect of driving citizens, in great numbers, to home affairs offices to apply for smart ID cards in panic,” the department said in a statement at the time.

“We, therefore, call upon members of the public to ignore these mischievous messages. Responding with panic affects our systems negatively, thus making it very difficult for us to deliver services as expected, professionally and in the most humane of ways.”

The latest incident has again made the department hot under the collar.

Tweeps were not fooled that easily though, with many stating that they would continue using their ID books.

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