No, this video does not show a wedding gone wrong in East London -- South Africa or elsewhere

This article is more than one year old.
Published on December 5, 2018 at 15:31
2 min read
By Tendai DUBE

A tweet shared widely shared on social media in South Africa purports to be the video of a wedding gone wrong in the country’s city of East London. The video is actually from a concert in east London, in the British capital, where disgruntled fans threw various objects on stage after it was announced that an expected act would no longer be performing.

The tweet, shared on December 3, 2018, includes a video showing angry people throwing bottles and chairs at a stage, and security personnel in yellow vests trying to calm the situation down in a busy hall. The accompanying text reads: “Ex girlfriend with her gang attend the wedding reception of ex boyfriend in East London, even the Security were overpowered.”

The video has been viewed over 100,000 times, retweeted 2,392 times and has more than 2,900 likes.

A screenshot taken on December 3, 2018 of the tweet

In the 479 comments on the post, some appear to believe the video does show an ex-girlfriend and her ‘gang’ as the account claims, while others suggest the wedding couldn’t have taken place in South Africa. A few others state that the video is not what the post claims it to be.

A screenshot of the comments on the false tweet captured on December 4, 2018

A screenshot taken on December 4, 2018 of a comment on the false tweet

A six minute version of the video can be found on a Facebook post from October 7, 2018 with the following caption: “Ugandans In London (ROYAL REGENCY) Threw Bottles And Chairs After Artists Failed To Show Up on stage. Some pple were seen complaining after paying VIP £60 Approx $120”.

A venue name can be seen in the video, the Royal Regency, which is located in the Manor Park district of east London in the United Kingdom - pictures on their website match the video.

The South African city of East London, with approximately 400,000 residents, is 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) from Cape Town on the south east coast.

Ugandan musician Vinka had been scheduled to perform at the “The Big Weekender”. She posted an apology on her Facebook page after the event.

A screenshot of Ugandan musician Vinka's October 7, 2018 Facebook post

Samiul Bari, from The Royal Regency management, said, “yes it was a music event, the performer didn't show so ...(people)...got upset and violent”.

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