This post on condoms becoming 'part of stationery' for South African students is from a fake Department of Education page
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on November 14, 2019 at 17:48
- 2 min read
- By AFP South Africa, Tendai DUBE
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The Facebook post, which we’ve archived here, says, 'Due to high rate of teenage pregnancy, condoms will be part of stationery in 2020'.
More posts surfaced days later on another fake Facebook account here, shared more than 300 times. South African tabloid The Daily Sun also published an article on November 5, debunking the Facebook post, adding some of the reactions it provoked from social media users.
However, a cropped image of the newspaper version of The Daily Sun’s article was taken out of context and shared online. These misleading posts have been shared thousands of times here and here.
A spokesman for the Department of Basic Education (DBE) condemned the post as ‘fake news’, expressing his frustration that ‘we need to spend time distancing ourselves from the fake news’.
“Fake NEWS!! It keeps happening and some people fall for these images. Be careful because it will make you angry for no reason because it is just trash,” said DBE spokesman Elijah Mhlanga.
“People have time to manufacture nonsense that creates panic, anger and shock. We should also stop spreading it because we give them joy when it receives so much attention. WhatsApp groups are full of these things.”
“It’s annoying that we need to spend time distancing ourselves from the fake news,” Mhlanga added in his Facebook post, along with two pieces of misleading content.
A search on Facebook shows multiple accounts for the department, for example here, here and here. However, poor spelling and humorous content suggests many of them are fake.
The real accounts to follow are DBE SA on Facebook, which links back to the official website and DBE_SA on Twitter, a verified account.
The DBE policy on HIV, STIs and TB approved in 2017 allows pupils aged 12 and older access to male and female condoms, as well as information on how to use them -- see local news here.
Last week, the South African education department launched a campaign aimed at 'streamlining efforts by governments across the regions to reduce the alarming rates of early and unintended pregnancies among adolescents and young people'.
Minister Motshekga with the learners of Mamelodi High School singing the "Let's Talk" Early and Unintended Pregnancies Pledge which aims to ensure learners delay sexual debut and focus on school activities. @ElijahMhlanga pic.twitter.com/7rDrXeupuJ
— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) November 6, 2019
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