Perspective: Think before you share

This weekend a 500-strong crowd chased an innocent man out of Shakaskraal, accusing him of a crime that had not even been committed.

Frightened for his life he sought refuge at the Umhlali police station. It is anyone’s guess what could have happened if the police had not intervened.

On its own this appears insanity personified – (read the article on Pg 1 and 2 for all the details) – but is it really more crazy than the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people who passed on text messages and voice notes claiming that multiple children had been kidnapped and mutilated without first verifying them?

One message read:

“2 kids found cut open in groutville, 1 found dead in shakashead. 2 taken from shakaskraal, and another attempt yesterday at shakaskraal – Rita has distressed voice message from the mother on her phone warning everyone – grey vehicle with gp number plate.”

This never happened. There are no mutilated children or any that have been found dead or taken.

The messages spread like wildfire, igniting fear in people’s hearts.

Fear is a dangerous emotion, it can lead us to see things that are not there.

So when two children snuck out to go bird hunting on Saturday without telling anyone where they were going, it was not long before fear connected the dots.

A neighbour thought she saw a stranger in a blue car pulling the boys inside and driving off with them.

What she really saw who could know but when 49-year-old Glendale resident Maxwell Gamede drove past the search party he was immediately a suspect.

I shudder to think what people have done when a ‘suspect’ is tried and the sentenced is passed in such a ‘kangaroo court’.

“Madness is something rare in individuals – but in groups, parties, peoples, and ages, it is the rule.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil.

We look at that crowd and judge them, perhaps too harshly?

Kidnapping does happen. It is not a wild fancy. Half-truths are always the most convincing. So please, think before you share.

If you are unsure ask yourself, does this come from a credible source?

Most ‘fake news’ or hoax messages are either vague on the author (someone’s neighbour?) or they attribute the hoax to what sounds like an authority figure.

A random policeman’s signature at the bottom of a text message does not mean anything. Always go to trusted and established news sites or to websites like Snopes.com for confirmation before you push send.

This simple act helps stop the hateful spread of misinformation and fear mongering, which are like a cancer in our modern society.

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WIN!

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Points for creativity!