NEWS, LIES & HOAXES

Immaculate Hove and Bornwise Mtonzi Lifestyle Writers—
Earlier this year the geeks who monitor internet activity declared that Facebook had overtaken Google as the main space from which users followed up on news reports. In other words, more and more people are trusting social media to lead them to information of what is going on in the world. This makes sense as an ever-increasing percentage of the over 7 billion human beings on earth are connecting to each other through the various social media platforms. So it is not surprising that social media has become the primary platform for those looking at hoodwinking the world with hoaxes.

Before the invention of the social media, we used to have very reliable and credible news but now there is no longer gate-keeping from the sources of information making it difficult to note which and which is not the correct information. The social media have brought along different sources of information, making it possible for anyone who wishes to send anything to do it without any problem.

Because of this we tend to have false news becoming viral and people no longer know what is true. Some of the hoaxes are hilarious, obviously false while others can cause distress. What they have in common is that there appears to be no material gain for the originators, with their reward presumably lying in the enjoyment of taking large numbers of people for a ride.

The story of a Lamborghini and a prophet which allegedly happened in Masvingo a short while ago comes to mind for the obviously false hoaxes. Recently, there is a story that went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp which announced the death of erotic dancer Beverly “Bev” Sibanda (top right) after she was allegedly stabbed to death at a local bar:

“We have learnt with great sorrow the sad news of the passing away of raunchy dancer Beverly Sibanda, aka Bev, who was stabbed to death at a local bar. She passed on, on arrival to Parirenyatwa Hospital, may her soul rest in peace.” Before that musician Chinx Chingaira had to record a video disputing news of his death that had been similarly circulated.

What has to be one of the most outrageous Facebook posts for the year 2015 is from the account of one Karen Anderson-Animal Communicator, Author, Psychic who on July 30 claimed to have heard from Cecil the lion. This was at the height of the furore created after the announcement of the lion’s death which had actually occurred almost four weeks before.

According to Karen, Cecil said to her: “Let not the actions of these few men defeat us or allow darkness to enter our hearts. If we do then we become one of them. Raise your vibration and allow this energy to move us forward. What happened does not need to be discussed as it is what it is. Take heart my child, I am finer than ever, grander than before as no one can take our purity, our truth or our soul. Ever. I am here. Be strong and speak for all the others who suffer needlessly to satisfy human greed. Bring Light and Love and we will rise above this.”

The reaction of the majority of the people when that hit the news was to ridicule Karen and accuse her of trying to capitalise on an emotional subject to find an undeserved 15 minutes of fame. Some of the hoaxes are particularly cruel and seem to indicate sadistic tendencies in the originators. Earlier this year there was Facebook post claiming that 33 members of a local church had died when their bus was involved in an accident at Christmas Pass in Mutare.

The post went so far as to gun for credibility by giving details such as the number of men, women and children among the fatalities and also the home base of the group. Many people with relatives attending the church in the stated area frantically got in touch to ascertain if their loved ones were safe, only to learn that the whole thing was a hoax in terrible taste.

Some of the hoaxes cause unnecessary panic. There is a WhatsApp message that keeps on doing the rounds purporting to be from the Zimbabwe Republic Police advising people not to have anything to do with any kids claiming to be lost.

The message goes on to state that this a ploy being used by a particularly vicious gang of robbers who will attack any good Samaritan who offers to accompany the kid to his home.

Another warning on similar lines has just surfaced urging motorists to beware of a hijacker on the prowl:
“Please don’t give this man a lift. He is tall and dark in complexion and is armed with an AK47. He is a dangerous criminal. All motorists be advised”, it reads. It received quite an overwhelming response on the net. “Thank you for the advice, will be more cautious” commented one Tambu.

A post of an alleged apostolic in a bloody gown caused a stir when it appeared on Facebook with claims that he was a Zimbabwean prophet who had murdered his son in some parody of a Biblical sacrifice. It was only when people started trying to pin down the neighbourhood in which the murder had occurred that they soon realised that it was a hoax.

At the beginning of the year there was some humour generated from yet another Facebook post. The picture of a young boy with piles of cash was accompanied by a claim that the boy had been miraculously blessed by Nigerian church leader TB Joshua. The post asked people to type the word “Amen” to stand a chance of receiving their own miracles.

Hundreds of “Amens” appeared until some character exposed the hoax by poking fun at the gullible when he pointed out that the boy in question was holding bearer cheques and not the currencies that are in use. Advice on the internet says there is no way to tell between a hoax and a genuine story until the facts have been proven.

So until some geek designs an application that filters out hoaxes, we will just have to live with them. There is no faster, more efficient source of news in the modern day than the Internet, but, as you well know, not everyone is interested in telling the truth.

In fact, it’s easier than ever for a prank or a hoax to go viral in the age of the internet, and the more channels we have in which to communicate, the faster this nonsense can spread.Most of the hoaxes are promptly swept under the rug, especially as the internet audience becomes more savvy, but there are plenty that have been propagated by countless sources as genuine news.

You probably remember at least a few of them: Waterproof iPhones? That girl who was trying to twerk and lit herself on fire?
There are too many to count, but WhoIsHostingThis? shared an infographic earlier this year that highlights some of the most memorable:-bgr.com