Photo credit: Los Angeles Times
Growing anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa has unleashed a wave of disinformation online.
AFP reports that some social media users recently shared photos allegedly showing the arrest of irregular migrants who were caught selling dog meat to unsuspecting customers. But the images were taken in Angola in December 2023 and have nothing to do with South Africa or any other countries where the claim has surfaced.
An X post published on September 2, 2024, reads, “In Tembisa, three illegal aliens, Ogechi Paul, Munachimso Kalu, and Kelvin Chikezie, were busted for selling dog meat.”
The post includes a photo of two men and one woman, while another shows meat in a blue plastic container and the head and limbs of a dog arranged in a plastic crate.
The post reads, “South Africans, stay alert! We cherish our dogs as pets, not food.”
The post amassed hundreds of likes before the X account was suspended.
However, the post has circulated in different languages in other countries on the continent, including Guinea and Uganda and was adjusted to suit the local anti-migrant narratives.
However, AFP Fact Check found the claims to be false:
A reverse image search allowed the AFP to trace the photographs to 2023 articles about a bust in Angola.
One of the women circulating the photos is seen wearing a blue-green traditional wrap skirt that matches the pattern and material seen on a suspect photographed at the scene of the police raid in 2023. The blue container and the plastic crate also match.
Portuguese media reported that Angola’s Criminal Investigation Service arrested a group on December 14, 2023, for selling dog meat to customers who believed they were buying goat meat.
Two of the suspects were said to be undocumented citizens originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Angolan reports identified all three people, and the names do not match those in the false online posts.
Further searches showed that the same claim has been circulating on X since at least December 2023.
Despite having one of the world’s highest employment rates, South Africa attracts many economic migrants from elsewhere on the continent. Coupled with a dim economic outlook, the influx has sparked a rise in xenophobia and sporadic bursts of anti-immigrant violence in recent years.
Tensions increased after a recent row involving a 2024 Miss South Africa finalist with Nigerian ties. Chidimma Adetshina’s Nigerian heritage attracted vicious xenophobic attacks when she was announced as a pageant finalist in July. The government said it was investigating a claim that her mother may have stolen the identity of a South African woman.
Adetshina withdrew from the contest and was crowned Miss Universe Nigeria’s winner.
In another recent incident, the newly appointed mayor of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, was in trouble for suggesting that foreign nationals should be hired as police officers.
