Hawks warn about fake news

Do not spread fake news about human trafficking or kidnapping.

This was the stern warning issued by the Hawks on Wednesday after a multidisciplinary kidnapping task team was activated to find a foreigner, reported on social media as abducted after arriving in Cape Town. “This follows a similar incident on December 1,” Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said. A task team sprang into action, diverting police resources. “Eventually the complainant contacted his family, who indicated it was a prank,” Hani said. “The directorate in is deeply concerned about the peddling of fake news and cautions the public against distribution of such malicious untruths”.