THE police have urged the public to exercise caution when sharing unconfirmed crime-related information on social media.
This comes after a video of a bogus kidnapping in Klerksdorp went viral on social media platforms, particularly on WhatsApp.
Read also: Man in court for extortion, impersonating Durban mayor
“A preliminary investigation was conducted after police management which showed that no such incident was reported. The police believe that the video was staged to spark fear among members of the public. In the same breath, voice notes with false and unsubstantiated information were over the weekend shared on social media platforms about alleged kidnapping incidents for human trafficking purposes,” police said in a statement.
Police have urged social media users to verify the legitimacy of crime-related videos and voice notes with the police before forwarding them, as some may be false and contribute towards the spread of fake information.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations. You can also sign up for news alerts on Telegram. Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5532.