The lazy social media clickbait reuses the same wording, in Afrikaans, teasing “shocking” news about local celebrities – politician Julius Malema, cricketer AB de Villiers, actor Pearl Thusi and more.
MARY ALEXANDER • 15 MAY 2024
“Die nuus vanoggend het alle Suid-Afrikaners geskok!” That’s Afrikaans for “the news this morning shocked all South Africans”, and it’s a common theme in a new scam circulating on Facebook in 2024.*
The various versions of the scam use photos of prominent South Africans, with false clickbait headlines suggesting they have met a “tragic end” or have had a “secret” about them revealed – sometimes both.
One shows a photo of Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters political party. South Africa is set to hold national and provincial elections on 29 May. The headline below the photo reads:
Die nuus vanoggend het alle Suid-Afrikaners geskok! Die geheim van die groot leier is uiteindelik geopenbaar! (The news this morning shocked all South Africans. The great leader’s secret has finally been revealed.)
A variation on this says, in Afrikaans, that Malema has met a “tragic end”.
Another version uses photos of tech entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. The headline reads:
Skok! Die tragiese einde van Mark Shuttleworth. Sy geheim is uiteindelik geopenbaar. (Shock! The tragic end of Mark Shuttleworth. His secret is finally revealed.)
Yet another shows cricketer AB de Villiers, suggesting he’s in trouble with the law:
Die tragiese einde van AUberVilliers! Vanoggend het die nuus alle Suid-Afrikaners geskok!! Aanklagte teen AUberVilliers bevestig! (The tragic end of AUberVilliers! This morning the news shocked all South Africans!! Charges against AUberVilliers confirmed!)
Facebook users have complained about this version, with one posting on a cricketing page: “These scammers and Fake News distributors just never Gives up.”
Actor and producer Pearl Thusi is another celebrity the scam claims has met a “tragic end”.
The previews in some versions of the scam show Citizen.co.za, News24.com or Netwerk24.com, the URLs of legitimate South African news sites. But when you click the “Learn More” button, the link goes elsewhere.
None of the shocks to be found in the news
All of the scam posts lead to e-commerce sites, most of them selling either clothing and accessories or, oddly, children’s books. Most of the URLs are dodgy and seem unrelated to the products – startcapitalstructure.com, for example, or startriskdiversificationlearn.com.
Some of the links are now broken, but several of the suspicious sites remain live. Only one version leads to a legitimate ecommerce site, for the US clothing company YoungLA.
The almost identical wording used in the scam’s different versions is a pretty clear indication that its sensational headlines are false.
But to be sure, we checked the news.
There have been no recent reports of any major “secret” about Malema “finally being revealed”, or that he has met a “tragic end”. Given his prominence in politics, either would have made front page headlines.
Similarly, neither Shuttleworth nor Thusi have had a “tragic end”. And De Villiers is not facing any charges.
* Some claims posted on Facebook and Instagram may have been deleted by users after being rated via Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program.
Published by Africa Check on 22 May 2024