A video circulating on social media claiming to show a shootout between an Estcourt shop owner and two armed suspects has gone viral, despite being false. It never took place in Estcourt!
The video was filmed almost two years ago from CCTV footage captured at a store in the United States and has no connection to Estcourt or KwaZulu-Natal.
The circulation of the video comes amid growing tensions in Estcourt surrounding foreign-owned businesses and undocumented foreign nationals and recent marches and municipal engagements on the issue have intensified community divisions.
The spread of misleading content on social media has further added to the inflammatory nature of local politics and public discourse in the area.
The video, which is freely downloadable from YouTube and verifiable online, continues to circulate widely and shows a shop owner fatally shooting two armed robbers during the incident.
The shooting actually took place in December 2024 during an armed robbery at Sam’s Meat Market in New Orleans. This was confirmed through a simple reverse image search.
Rod Skinner, editor of the Ladysmith Gazette and Northern KZN regional editor, urged people sharing videos on social media to first verify information with trusted local media outlets before spreading false content.
“A simple call to the Estcourt News would have provided feedback that would have debunked the video. That is why community newspapers are such a valuable tool. We know what is happening in our communities, and if we do not, we have the resources to quickly verify whether something is true or not,” said Skinner.
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