If you considered registering for a degree in witchcraft at a South African university or celebrated Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s early retirement, chances are you were duped by a fake news website.
And there have been many false articles, including claims that Desmond Tutu and Thabo Mbeki had died, former public protector Thuli Madonsela being shot nine times, thousands of ballot papers marked with ANC votes found during elections and the DA cutting free township Wi-Fi in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Now Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg plans to ensure users are protected from false information.
Zuckerberg recently posted on his Facebook page that the site would implement greater measures to protect users from false information.
He said: “Our goal is to connect people with the stories they find most meaningful and we know people want accurate information. We’ve been working on this problem for a long time and we take this responsibility seriously.”
Katy Katopodis, deputy chairman of the SA Editors’ Forum, said the proliferation of these fake news websites remained an increasing concern because it affected the credibility of reputable media organisations.
“We have a responsibility as an audience to interrogate information. If you don’t know who the author is, don’t forward the information,” she said.
Some of the known local fake news websites include Live Monitor, iMzansi, Mzansi LIVE, African News Updates, Mzansi Stories, CitySun, Gossip Mill Mzansi, Pretorialive, South Africa Latest News, Viral Bru and Peace FM Online.
William Bird of Media Monitoring Africa said these websites were problematic in the sense that the information often related to real issues.
“In South Africa so much of our news is so bizarre that it could actually be fake, so the stories on those websites are not that bizarre,” he said.
Google has also announced that its advertising tools would soon be closed to websites that promote fake news.
