Was there a brutal farm attack in South Africa this Sunday, August 26, 2018? No, that's not true: a supposedly satirical South African website recycled a story from last year and in their hurry to publish they managed to copy paste their headline two times for some reason. In reality the attack dates from more than a year ago, in February 2017.
The story originated from an article published by News Updates South Africa on August 26, 2018 titled "Brutal Farm Attack !!! White Couple Overpowered In Their Home, Robbed, Tortured, Loaded In Their Vehicle And Dropped Off For Dead, Belfast, Sunday Morning. Farm Attack !!! White Couple Overpowered In Their Home, Robbed, Tortured, Loaded In Their Vehicle And Dropped Off For Dead, Belfast, Sunday Morning. - News Updates South Africa" (archived here) which opened:
Sue Howarth is in a critical condition in the Midmed intensive care unit. Her husband, Robert Lynn, lies less than a hundred metres away in the surgical ward. Doctors are keeping him somewhat sedated.
The couple was overpowered in their home, tortured, loaded into their vehicle and dropped off for dead next to the road in a mountainous pass outside Belfast, on Sunday morning.
"Sue is such a powerful person. She is so strong. She is a straight shooter. She would have wanted the world to see what happened to her. What they did to her," her friend Claire explains whilst accompanying journalists to the intensive care unit.
The exact same story appeared in the Middelburg Observer in February 2017:
(Update): "Don't be afraid my darling..." - The horror of a farm attack | Middelburg Observer
Claire Taylor held onto her friend's hand whilst whispering words of encouragement into her ear. Sue Howarth is in a critical condition in the Midmed intensive care unit. Her husband, Robert Lynn, lies less than a hundred metres away in the surgical ward. Doctors are keeping him somewhat sedated.
It is unclear why News Updates South Africa chose to republish the story today. The the site does come with an "About Us" page that says:
News Updates South Africa is South Africa's number 1 news satire website.
But we fail to see what is funny or satirical about this story.
We wrote about newsupdatessa.site before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: South African Minister of Defence Did NOT Say 'Trump Must Not Send Troops To Our Country'
- Fake News: Donald Trump Did NOT Announce "I am sending troops to South Africa, and they will not leave until the killings stop and the land issue is resolved'
- Fake News: Malema Did NOT Say Whites Should Not Be Allowed in Shopping Malls
- Fake News: Floyd Shivambu Did NOT Say "When we rename South Africa to Azania, we will require all whites and Indians to reapply for citizenship and adopt African names, else they will be loaded on boats and deported"
