Another day and another fake news story attacking actors by targeting their reputations.
This time the victim is Hungani Ndlovu who made headline news on Sunday's Sunday World (23 August), which claimed he's been FIRED! from Scandal!.
On Sunday morning Scandal! responded by tweeting like so:
Words can mean anything in this technological age so we checked to see if this means that he hasn't been fired but
is actually leaving.
It doesn't.
It means the entire story about his exit was fake news.
TVSA spoke to e.tv's Public Relations Officer Lerato Maboi who tells us:
Lerato: "He's not leaving - he's still very much part of the production. Just to clarify that point, he's not leaving. He's going nowhere."
These ever-increasing FIRED! headlines are a problem for multiple reasons:
1. They're like a fly that needs to be swatted, agitating everyone until they stop buzzing.
2 When someone
is actually fired, no-one will believe the story.
3. Actors who've been faked will be associated with being Fired!, which could have serious consequences on their careers, especially if the fake news is online e.g. if casting directors google their names, it's one of the first things they'll see, making it seem they're a problem to work with.
Yes, a FIRED! story will grab eyeballs because the misfortune of others and conflict is so popular, but it's selling a lie on the back of someone else - and it's getting old now.
It's time to move on.