AFP South Africa

No, Ramaphosa did not call South African farm murders ‘a problem that only exists on the internet’

Published on 26 June 2019 at 14:19

Multiple posts have been shared thousands of times on Facebook claiming that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told media this month that people are spreading fake news about farm murders, and that if the killings were “real news” they would be broadcast on TV. Despite the posts’ claim that the comments were made to a journalist on June 6, there is no trace of Ramaphosa making such remarks to a media outlet that day. The president’s spokeswoman told AFP that Ramaphosa had never made these comments and had no public engagements on June 6 when he could have spoken to the media.

‘We do not make a box of crayons that contains a Nipsey Blue colored crayon’: Crayola

Published on 17 June 2019 at 19:29

A post shared more than 44,000 times on Facebook claims Crayola has renamed a crayon after late rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was shot dead in front of his Los Angeles clothing store in March 2019. Social media users have campaigned for naming things in honor of the rapper since his death, however Crayola told AFP they do not make a box of crayons including a color called ‘Nipsey Blue’.

No, South African police did not issue warning about mobile network scam

Published on 14 June 2019 at 14:36

An audio message shared widely on South African WhatsApp groups claims to be a warning from a police officer about a new mobile network scam to steal money from shoppers. A spokeswoman for the South African Police Service told AFP they did not issue the message.

Reported figures for farm attacks in South Africa presented as representing a single province

Published on 12 June 2019 at 10:10

An article shared thousands of times on Facebook claims 184 farm attacks were recorded in South Africa’s Western Cape province in the first five months of 2019. But the article misquotes the report, which refers to the whole of the country, not just one province.

Fake Facebook page falsely claims Ugandan president faces ICC charges

Published on 6 June 2019 at 15:05Updated on 6 June 2019 at 18:50

A post shared from a fake Facebook page presenting itself as Al Jazeera claims that Uganda’s President Museveni will face the International Criminal Court over the massacre of 100 unarmed civilians. A spokesman for the ICC told AFP there are no charges against Museveni.

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