The rate at which females in South Africa go missing is alarming. With the growth and the wide reach of the internet, families, friends and well-wishers have resorted to posting missing persons’ information on social media.
They do so in hopes that someone who may have spotted the missing person will provide helpful information that could lead to a reunion with their loved ones. However, the community on social media sites such as Twitter’s response is mixed, and shows a broad spectrum from posting compassionate messages to peddling conspiracies.
In no case has this been more applicable than that of Karabo Ncube-Ntuane who has been missing since 24 March 2018, according to SA Community Crime Watch with Twitter users using the hashtag #KaraboNcube. The following is a list of do’s and dont’s to consider before posting any tweets regarding a missing person.
Do share the message on Twitter. Add as much relevant information as possible, such as a last seen location and picture which could help in the missing person’s identification if anyone sees him or her. This also helps the efforts of the police while leveraging the wide audience on social media.
Don’t share conspiracy theories without any evidence. If the source of the story being weaved about a missing person on social media is not named, it is as useless as any other baseless rumour.
Do Retweet the missing person message in order for it to gain traction. As many members of the public should be alerted and looking out for the missing person.
Don’t spread false rumours that the missing person has been found. It may prevent people from providing potentially helpful leads because they assume that the ongoing case has been solved.
Do ask questions that have not been answered on social media in order to get a clearer view of the case. This could also possibly help the police in their investigation and give loved ones additional options to consider in their search.
Don’t assume that a missing person is dead if there is no official report saying that this is fact. This could derail and demoralise people from the search for the person. Giving the worst case scenario is insensitive when loved ones are going through an emotionally stressful time.
Do share similar stories. This exposes other angles to be considered in the case by alerting social media about the outcomes of other cases.
Don’t post sensitive information on social media before you are sure of who you should speak to first.
Anyone with any information regarding Karabo Ncube-Ntuane’s whereabouts should contact the South African Police Service or report it to their nearest police station.
Karabo Ncube-Ntuane is still missing at the time of writing.