South Africa: Fake News | No, Government Is Not Recording Your Phone Calls or Stalking You On Social Media

Amid the many challenges posed by the novel coronavirus, which saw South Africa going into a 21-day lockdown on Friday morning, the spread of fake news, false information, hoaxes and scams appears to be as rapid as the spread of the virus itself.

A WhatsApp message claiming that "new communication regulations" would allow government to record people's phone calls, monitor their WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and that people forwarding religious or political messages would be arrested without a warrant has been doing the rounds.

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