“Studying too much causes brain cancer - reveals Minister of Basic Education,” reads text on a screenshot posted on Facebook in South Africa.
It shows a photo of Angie Motshekga, the country’s minister of basic education.
“Learners must take care of themselves and rest these holidays. I would advise them to not touch their books so they can rest their brains because studying too much causes brain cancer,” the screenshot quotes her as saying.
This is an old hoax that dates back to 2017.
On 7 July of that year the Department of Basic Education issued a statement noting a “recent spate of fake news doing the rounds on social media”, adding that despite the “ridiculous nature of the statements some members of the public have expressed concern over the fake reports”.
“We would like to reassure the public that the Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga has never said that too much studying causes brain cancer,” the statement reads.
The department urged the public to “be vigilant about verifying what they read before they share it on social media”. – Taryn Willows
It shows a photo of Angie Motshekga, the country’s minister of basic education.
“Learners must take care of themselves and rest these holidays. I would advise them to not touch their books so they can rest their brains because studying too much causes brain cancer,” the screenshot quotes her as saying.
‘Ridiculous nature of these statements’
This is an old hoax that dates back to 2017.
On 7 July of that year the Department of Basic Education issued a statement noting a “recent spate of fake news doing the rounds on social media”, adding that despite the “ridiculous nature of the statements some members of the public have expressed concern over the fake reports”.
“We would like to reassure the public that the Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga has never said that too much studying causes brain cancer,” the statement reads.
The department urged the public to “be vigilant about verifying what they read before they share it on social media”. – Taryn Willows
Republish our content for free
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
Add new comment