SANEF condemns fake news sites and calls on South Africans to use credible sources of news

20 September 2016

The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has noticed an alarming trend by fake news websites to publish inaccurate information under the guise of news. Sanef notes and strongly condemns today’s false story about the well-being of Archbishop Emeritus, Desmond Tutu which has done the rounds on social media. There have also been recent reports about Former President Thabo Mbeki.

Such inaccurate reports by websites masquerading as credible news sources are highly damaging and hurtful to those involved and their families. They also do a great disservice to legitimate news websites and the news industry as a whole. We also note that many of these fake sites purposefully use names and logos very similar to authentic media houses in an attempt to deceive their readers.

We call on the publishers to desist from publishing these false and inflammatory stories with immediate effect as it is grossly irresponsible.

Sanef also calls on all South Africans not to perpetuate false news cycles by sharing such stories on their social media networks.

We ask that greater attention be given to the source of news before simply retweeting, or sharing.

Sanef encourages South Africans to ensure that they share from well-established, trusted and credible news sources that are a legitimate part of the SA media landscape.

Sanef will look for an appropriate course of action to take against such fake news sites.

Issued by Katy Katopodis, Deputy Chairperson, SANEF, 20 September 2016