A video doing the rounds on social media platforms, with an accompanying message saying a popular retail store in Durban has been looted, is an old video being shared in a fake news context.

Shot during the 2021 civil unrest in which several shopping centres were looted, the video is of Watercrest Mall in Waterfall, Durban’s Outer West, and clearly shows that the carnage was widespread, and not targeted at one particular store.

Speaking to the Zululand Observer from just 400m from Watercrest Mall, one Waterfall resident said all was quiet and in order.

“I went for lunch with a friend of mine at one of the restaurants at the mall, and my husband has just gone to the supermarket there,” she said.

“As soon as I saw the video, I recognised the voice as being that of one of our neighbourhood patrollers who took the video during the looting.”

This viral video once again serves as a reminder to verify the content of social media messages and videos rather than blindly forwarding them on.