A fake video of a woman allegedly being kidnapped has been shared amongst North West social media users. As a result, the local police commissioner, Sello Kwena, has warned social media users to not share any unconfirmed crime-related information on social media platforms. Kwena says the preliminary investigation conducted by the police in Klerksdorp over the alleged incident showed that no such incident was reported. Meanwhile, police spokesperson, Sabata Mokgwabone, explains that it is also apparent that the video was staged to cause fear among members of the public.

“In the same breath, voice notes with false and unsubstantiated information were shared over the weekend on social media platforms about the alleged kidnapping incidents for human trafficking purposes. However, it turned out that no cases were reported to the police either in Mmabatho or Mahikeng where the incidents allegedly took place,” Mokgwabone adds.

The video shared on social media in Klerksdorp also made rounds in the Free State with the fake incident said to have occurred in Bloemfontein. Following the messages on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, the Free State police spokesperson, Motantsi Makhele, urged the public to report suspected human trafficking to authorities before posting and sharing such information on social media platforms. 

Makhele told OFM News simply sharing such cases on social media doesn’t serve any tangible purpose. He furthermore said the police’s cybercrime unit has been diligently following up on the latest human trafficking allegations that have gone viral on social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, and have determined that the allegations are not only false but were also spread on the same platforms in 2017. 

OFM News