On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages: ? Covid vaccines make you “seedless”, says a graphic doing the rounds on Facebook. But it’s FALSE. https://bit.ly/vaccine_seedless (https://bit.ly/vaccine_seedless)   ? Yes, sugar can be used to treat minor wounds at home! https://bit.ly/sugar_treatment (https://bit.ly/sugar_treatment)  ? Can baking soda kill viruses and cancer cells in your body? Nope, this claim is FALSE. https://bit.ly/baking_soda_virus (https://bit.ly/baking_soda_virus)   Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 830 6407) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

What's Crap on WhatsApp?

Can baking soda kill viruses and cancer cells in your body?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages: No, there is no foolproof way to tell if a drink has been spiked. https://bit.ly/drink_spiked (https://bit.ly/drink_spiked) Do you have to ‘isolate’ for two weeks after getting the Covid jab to protect others from ‘vaccine shedding’? Nope! https://bit.ly/vaccine_isolate (https://bit.ly/vaccine_isolate) Has the murder rate for the North West nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021? Yes but the Covid-19 lockdown skewed the comparison. https://bit.ly/murder_doubled (https://bit.ly/murder_doubled) Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 830 6407) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

Do you need to isolate for two weeks after taking the Covid jab?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages: ??‍♀️ It’s wrong to claim that South African police are not allowed to shoot back when shot at! https://bit.ly/police_shoot (https://bit.ly/police_shoot)  ?? Yes, viral online photos show baby born in South Africa with progeria, a rare aging disorder. https://bit.ly/progeria_baby (https://bit.ly/progeria_baby)  ? Can you treat kidney stones, hepatitis or measles with coconut oil? No! See a doctor instead. https://bit.ly/coconut_treatment (https://bit.ly/coconut_treatment)  Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 830 6407) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

Can you treat kidney stones, hepatitis or measles with coconut oil?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages: ? Does South Africa have world’s 2nd-highest rate of firearm-related deaths? No! https://bit.ly/firearm_deaths (https://bit.ly/firearm_deaths)  ?? Are 20 million black South Africans now unemployed, compared to 1.6 million in 1994? Why a viral graphic got it wrong. https://bit.ly/unemployed_south_africans (https://bit.ly/unemployed_south_africans)  ✈️ Yes, a pilot was sucked out of aircraft at altitude and lived to tell the tale. https://bit.ly/pilot_aircraft (https://bit.ly/pilot_aircraft)  Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 830 6407) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

Does South Africa have the world’s 2nd-highest rate of firearm-related deaths?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages: ? Is it true that asymptomatic Covid-19 patients can’t transmit the new coronavirus? Nope, it’s false! *CLICK:* https://bit.ly/cdc_covid_claims (https://bit.ly/cdc_covid_claims)  ? No, don’t use garlic to lower blood pressure. Seek proper medical care. *CLICK:* https://bit.ly/garlic_blood_pressure (https://bit.ly/garlic_blood_pressure)  ?? Is cancer the leading cause of death in Malawi? No, respiratory infections and tuberculosis are. Cancer is 5th. *CLICK:* https://bit.ly/malawi_cancer (https://bit.ly/malawi_cancer)  Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 830 6407) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

Can Garlic Lower Blood Pressure?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages:  ? Don’t be misled by the message about Discovery Health providing oxygen tanks for Covid-19 patients? *CLICK:* https://africacheck.info/discovery_oxygen (https://africacheck.info/discovery_oxygen)    ?️ Yes, this video does show a massive queue for shops in Ulundi after #ShutdownSA protests. *CLICK:* http://africacheck.info/ulundi_queue (http://africacheck.info/ulundi_queue)  ??‍♂️ Did the ‘real’ Nelson Mandela die in 1985 while in prison? Nope, this conspiracy theory bungles facts. *CLICK:* http://africacheck.info/real_mandela (http://africacheck.info/real_mandela)   Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 830 6407) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

Did the ‘real’ Nelson Mandela die in 1985 while in prison?

This week on *"What's Crap on WhatsApp?"* we’re investigating two claims about the recent #ShutdownSA protest and a claim about a bone-breaking “horror frog”.

#ShutdownSA protest claims

In this week's "What's Crap on WhatsApp?" we’re investigating alcohol bans, exploding gas cylinders and a debunked Covid-19 cure.

Will shaking a gas cylinder make it explode?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages: ?️ Do ‘over a million’ Africans die in road accidents each year? No, this is the global number of deaths. *CLICK* https://africacheck.info/road_traffic_deaths (https://africacheck.info/road_traffic_deaths)  ??‍? Did an eleven-year-old hacker steal $75bn from a Swiss bank? Nope! *CLICK* http://africacheck.info/hacker_swiss_bank (http://africacheck.info/hacker_swiss_bank)  ♨️ No, inhaling steam (still) doesn’t prevent Covid-19. *CLICK* https://africacheck.info/steam_covid (https://africacheck.info/steam_covid) Produced by Africa Check and Volume Presented by Andisiwe May and Kate Wilkinson.

Do ‘over a million’ Africans die in road accidents each year?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages: ? What is the evidence that links ‘black fungus’ to repeated use of unwashed masks. *CLICK* https://bit.ly/3vRjNFq (https://bit.ly/3vRjNFq)   ? Does this video, posted on Twitter, show lava flowing from Mount Nyiragongo in the DRC? No! *CLICK* https://bit.ly/3i91yaG (https://bit.ly/3i91yaG)  ? No, a South African minister didn’t say ‘white people, Indians, Khoisan and Afrikaans speaking coloureds’ were illegal immigrants. *CLICK* https://bit.ly/3p9O7bO (https://bit.ly/3p9O7bO)

Is ‘black fungus’ linked to repeated use of unwashed masks?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages: ? The Economic Freedom Fighters claimed Russian and Chinese vaccines have been proven to have higher efficacy than vaccines from Europe and American. But experts say the comparison is flawed. *CLICK* http://africacheck.info/EFF_vaccines (http://africacheck.info/EFF_vaccines)  ⛽ Was a service station in South Africa held hostage as robbers sold fuel? Nope! *CLICK* http://africacheck.info/Zimbabwe_fuel (http://africacheck.info/Zimbabwe_fuel)  ? Are lobsters “biologically immortal”? Wrong - no lobster lives forever. https://africacheck.info/lobster_jellyfish (https://africacheck.info/lobster_jellyfish)   Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 830 6407) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

Was a service station in South Africa held hostage as robbers sold fuel?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages:   ? “These three black celebrities all died this year, within the same month that they received the COVID vaccine,” reads a tweet. But it’s misleading! *CLICK* https://africacheck.info/32HpI38 (https://africacheck.info/32HpI38)    Did the “Philadelphia experiment” make an entire ship disappear in 1943? This is false. *CLICK* https://africacheck.info/3t0BAIg (https://africacheck.info/3t0BAIg)  No, a viral photo doesn’t show that Malawi ordered vaccines from Zimbabwe and got a rock instead. *CLICK* https://africacheck.info/3nzaiYg (https://africacheck.info/3nzaiYg)    Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 830 6407) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

Did three black celebrities die from the COVID-19 vaccine in the same month?

On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages:   ?? No, Helen Zille, former head of South Africa’s Democratic Alliance, didn’t write that she ‘regrets promoting Black leadership’. *CLICK* https://africacheck.info/3sttYO7 (https://africacheck.info/3sttYO7)      ? Does a viral picture show a hotel in the city of Bloemfontein that currently offers gives tourists a ‘poverty experience’? No. *CLICK* https://africacheck.info/3twadH4 (https://africacheck.info/3twadH4)    ?️ This photo shows filthy water in San Diego, not South Africa's Limpopo province. *CLICK* https://africacheck.info/3dsz8pe (https://africacheck.info/3dsz8pe)    Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 830 6407) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

Did Helen Zille write that she ‘regrets promoting Black leadership’?

"On today’s *“What's Crap on WhatsApp?”* we investigate three viral messages: ?? Were six of South African cities ranked in the top 20 the “most dangerous” cities in the world? https://africacheck.info/3lFjMjM (https://africacheck.info/3lFjMjM)  ? Will a chrysocolla bracelet relieve diabetes symptoms? https://africacheck.info/3fhdXYH (https://africacheck.info/3fhdXYH)  ? Does a viral photo show the official opening of a R11m bridge in Qwaqwa, South Africa? https://africacheck.info/3rEZoAx (https://africacheck.info/3rEZoAx)  Your friends and family can sign up for our show! Tell them to save our number (082 709 3527) and send us a WhatsApp message to confirm. You can send us any WhatsApp message that you need fact-checked! Forward videos, pictures and links to this number.

Are 6 South African cities the "most dangerous" in the world?

? What about a South African MP claiming that 70% of the informal economy is ‘in hands of non-citizens’. *READ:* https://africacheck.info/30MKSMf ?? Is there any evidence for #15MillionIllegalMigrants in South Africa? *READ:* https://africacheck.info/3bBunZR ?? Beware of false job adverts for the South African police. *READ:* https://africacheck.info/2Q9kLNr

Is there any evidence for #15MillionIllegalMigrants in South Africa?

The show that debunks misinformation on WhatsApp. Brought to you by Africa Check, Volume and the International Fact-Checking Network.

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What's Crap on WhatsApp?

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