Posting and sharing FAKE NEWS can land you in hot water
SAPS warns against the posting of fake news on social media.
The South African Police Service [SAPS] has released a statement following the circulation of social media posts spreading fake news about the organisation.
SAPS described the various social media posts as “perpetuating false information”.
“The current social media post going viral alleges that a woman arrested for public drinking was gang-raped at a Mamelodi police station and subsequently passed away. This is completely untrue and the incident did not take place. The false and reckless allegations are rejected.
- Related Content:Â ‘They were…Â INNOCENT!’ – Witness
“The post is regarded as very irresponsible and insensitive towards both the police and the communities we serve. It undermines the trust of the community in the police.
“We are urgently looking into this social media post to get to the source. The incident is viewed in a very serious light and the police will consider legal action on this matter,” quoted from the statement.
SAPS wishes to warn the public to be cautious and should act rationally when posting stuff on social media. The statement also emphasized on how communication of this nature can instantaneously proliferate to other social platforms.
- Related Content:Â VIDEO: Eldos furious over alleged attempted kidnapping of schoolgirl
“Users of social media must carefully consider the truthfulness of information before they decide to share it with other social media users.
“According to South African law, it does not require a person to be the originator of the content of a communication to be held liable. The repeating or sharing a post is sufficient.
“A person may be equally liable for another person’s posts where that person knows that they have been tagged in the other person’s post and allows their name to be used, and fails to take steps to disassociate or distance themselves from that post,” extract from the statement.
