Social media reports of more deaths of South African children from spaza shop poisonings are not true – ignore engagement baiting

Child poisoning used as clickbait for job scam site

At the end of the posts is the text: “But what shocked everyone the most is what the Spaza Shop owner told the kids when they bought the snacks from his shop shortly before they died. See here https://jobsunitednations.org/ihw/.”

This link leads to a site, archived here, impersonating the United Nations, advertising retail and other jobs. The page also includes an image of a WhatsApp screenshot, that says, in part, that “the shopkeepers encouraged them [the children] to invite more friends by offering them discounted prices on the snacks”. 

This would seem to imply that the alleged poisoning was deliberate and that the shopkeepers hoped to poison more children. 

This kind of sensationalised, attention-grabbing headline is called clickbait, because it’s baiting someone into clicking on a link. Usually the link leads to a website that earns money from advertisers when people visit the site. Clickbait isn’t designed to inform, so visiting the site often leads to unrelated or inaccurate information.

Food poisoning in South Africa

This claim leverages legitimate reports of children becoming ill or dying after eating snacks bought from spaza shops. This is the colloquial term for informal businesses selling food and other essentials, often in lower-income communities and informal settlements, that play a significant role in South Africa’s food economy.

In September 2024, Gauteng province health authorities issued an alert after a surge of 207 food poisoning incidents had been reported in 2024, largely in “townships, informal settlements and hostels”.  

A month later, the deaths of six children in Soweto, Johannesburg from suspected poisoning led to a spike in social media and news coverage of food-poisoning incidents involving children. Authorities shut down shops thought to be implicated in the deaths and announced inspections of various retailers.

Health authorities confirmed that deaths were caused by terbufos, a hazardous pesticide used in agriculture but illegal for domestic use. Investigations into 84 spaza shops in the area found the chemical in three, and that food was being stored directly next to other dangerous chemicals. 

But earlier post-mortem reports had attributed the deaths to a different chemical, which authorities traced to illegal traders thought to have sold it to spaza shops. This has all fed into a larger ongoing debate about shutting down spaza shops owned by immigrants, along with false information that reinforces xenophobic narratives.

In this context, it is easy to see why social media users looking to generate engagement would use a heated topic widely discussed online. There is no credible evidence that this February 2025 poisoning occurred. No official news outlets or governmental sources have reported on it, and the posts containing the claim lure users to an imposter job site. 

It is unclear where the photo of the children originated, but it likely appeared online at least two before February 2025, according to Google’s About this feature, which gives details about search results, such as websites and images.

Be wary of social media content that is sensational or makes you feel strong emotions like anger and outrage, and remember to check your facts before sharing.