Old Video Shared As Collapse of Lockdown Situation in South Africa

A viral video on social media claims that the situation in South Africa has collapsed and people are out on the streets due to hunger.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

CLAIM

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to force cities across the world in lockdown, a viral video on social media claims that the situation in South Africa has collapsed and people are out on the streets due to hunger.

“Lockdown in South Africa has collapsed. People are out on the streets because due to hunger,” the claim reads.

South Africa has 2,272 confirmed cases of coronavirus and has 27 recorded deaths.

An archived version of the video can be accessed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

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An archived version of the tweet can be found here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

TRUE OR FALSE?

False. Contrary to the claims, the video is from 2018 when a shop in Mitchells Plain was vandalised following violent protests in the area.

WHAT WE FOUND

We broke down the video into several keyframes using the InVid Google Chrome extension and followed it up with a reverse image search. This directed us to a Facebook video from October 2019 which hinted that the video is from one BP garage in Durban.

We then conducted a Keywords search using “Looting at BP Tower in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, South Africa” and came across a YouTube video from May 2018.

The video by CICA - Crime Intelligence & Community Awareness was captioned, “Protesters loot Pick N Pay Express Shop.”

Next, we found a report by news24, an African news website which stated, “Violence erupted after officials demolished informal structures on private land in the Woodlands area. AutoZone, the BP petrol station, Pick n Pay Express and a fish shop located near the settlement were hit the hardest.”

Hence, an old video of violence at a store is being shared to insinuate that the lockdown situation in South Africa has collapsed and hungry people have come out on the streets.

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