Zol – and dagga – are South African words for marijuana.
Does South Africa’s government “want” people to buy zol from a pharmacy?
False headline
In September 2018, South Africa’s Constitutional Court – the county’s highest court – ruled that using dagga was a private issue.
The court decriminalised the private use of dagga.
But it did not rule that people could buy the drug from a pharmacist, with a doctor’s letter.
The article’s headline is false. – Butchie Seroto
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.
Further Reading
‘A time of crisis’: fact-checking South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2023 state of the nation address
As he tried to reignite the enthusiasm of a wearied nation, did the president get his facts right? As we found out, it's all in the details.
[email protected]: The challenges of working across Africa
Misinformation knows no borders and Africa Check often responds to similar false claims from country to country.
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