Fake news alert: No, there won’t be a national shutdown on 2 December

You may have seen posts on social media announcing a “National Shutdown” on 2 December, while other memos call for a “shutdown march” in KwaZulu-Natal on the 3 December.

As per the fervent postings on Twitter, the supposed shutdown will affect “all cities, highways, main roads, roads leading to airports and train stations, etc”.

National shutdown misinformation

Hoax 1: Motor blockades ‘on all roads’

The anonymous organisers have called on taxi and truck owners, business owners and “small vehicle owners from all over the country to take part by taking their vehicles on the roads”.

The shutdown is allegedly in protest over the recent fuel price hike. However, as it is shared on social media, more demands are added.

These include everything from an unconfirmed impending lockdown due to the new Omicron variant and mandatory vaccinations.

Hoax 2: Shutdown march in Durban

A separate shutdown against mandatory vaccines and lockdown is said to be scheduled for 3 December in KwaZulu-Natal.

The march is reportedly planned from some undisclosed location in the Durban CBD to the City Hall on Anton Lembede Street.

As per the flyer, the unidentified organisers of the march say: “Enough is enough. People are going hungry. Cooked numbers. No covid during elections. No to forced vaccination [sic].”

Authenticity of shutdown not confirmed

After a quick social media scan, it appears as though the various calls for a national shutdown were posted shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address on Sunday.

One of the initial posts was shared on Twitter by a user known only as “Apostle Fikile”, who said: “I think we should have a national shutdown in South Africa and say no more lockdowns.”

“Apostle Fikile” also retweeted the flyer for the Durban march on 3 December.

The Citizen could not track down the organisers responsible for any of alleged these events.

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