From Joshlin to Mthethwa to Kirk – how social media fuels confusion and conspiracy theories

The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and the tragic death of Nathi Mthethwa have highlighted the danger of joining dots before they appear.

If South Africans are having trouble telling the good guys from the bad in law enforcement structures in South Africa at present, they are not alone. 

For years, investigative journalists have covered the capture of Crime Intelligence by a “faction” in SAPS loyal to former president Jacob Zuma and his cash extractors.

We have all the receipts, as do the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture and the 2019 Mokgoro Commission.

Zuma’s friends with benefits covered a wide terrain, including the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), the State Security Agency and the judiciary, as the Mokgoro Commission heard.

Of course, all the usual suspects (former Crime Intelligence head Richard Mdluli, for example, is serving a five-year sentence) have been named in various court matters and commissions over the years, but until Madlanga, it seems the truth has remained obscured by smoke and mirrors. 

That is why testimony to this commission is crucial and should be the only dots we should be joining along the way.

Finally, those implicated or who have deeper knowledge will have to testify to the panel, hopefully while South Africa watches live broadcasts.

Then, of course, there is the parliamentary police committee’s ad hoc inquiry into SAPS, which has had less traction in the media as it hauls itself into action.

Contaminating the crime scene 

Shortly after the news broke on 30 September 2025 that the former police minister and most recently Ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, had been found dead in a courtyard 22 floors below a room he had booked in the Hyatt Hotel in Paris, conspiracy theorists began hatching ersatz “facts”.

“Someone” wanted Mthethwa “out of the way”, was one theory raging on social media platforms, followed by another that it was a “hit” by shadowy state capturers who live and work among us and who were Mthethwa’s superiors.

Then there is the theory that Mthethwa has simply had a face transplant and is back in the country.

That news of Mthetwa’s death came just days after he had been implicated by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at the Madlanga Commission (the commission to sort out all commissions) cannot be ignored. The flames were getting closer to the former minister. 

Mthethwa was a Zuma ally and had been accused of allegedly benefiting from the Crime Intelligence secret slush fund during his term as minister. It was also Mthethwa who appointed Mdluli in the first place.

Joining invisible dots

That aside, hours after the news of Mthethwa’s death, the Internet began to hum with conspiracy theories. 

In this age of professional podcast pundits and online amateur detectives with too much time on their hands, rampant speculation soon bred conspiracy theories of note.

“Why no autopsy?”

“Where is the picture of the body?”

“Why has the WhatsApp to his wife not been released?”

As if police investigating a suspicious death will simply release all of the evidence in public, on websites and social media platforms, before anyone has the full picture.

It is just not done, ever. 

There is no conspiracy being concocted while law enforcement gathers the facts. Amateur sleuths can be utter morons.

Suggesting a cover-up of sorts only feeds the bullshit algorithm and makes money for those seeking hits with their online spin cycle. The more you watch the conspiracy theorists, the more you will disappear into a confusing fog.

A blizzard of confusion

The growing impingement on real-life crime scenes and the stampede to be first with news/gossip led in South Africa to the fouling of the tragic case of the missing Joshlin Smith.

In that instance, as colleague Vincent Cruywagen reported at the time, Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie used Facebook to spread inaccurate news while “influencers” posted details on TikTok, all of which hampered police work.

McKenzie even joined the search for Joshlin, trampling over the crime scene, sharing updates on his social media accounts and offering a R1-million reward for the then six-year-old’s safe return.

The ‘liar’s dividend’

After the shocking assassination of American Maga influencer Charlie Kirk, and watched in real time by many, social media users turned to AI chatbots for “reliable” updates.

AFP’s “disinformation correspondent” Anuj Chopra noted that in so doing, users found “contradictory or inaccurate responses, further fuelling online confusion”.

A day after the murder, the X account of AI chatbot Perplexity, noted Chopra, had falsely stated that Kirk was “still alive”. Conspiracy theorists then began to claim that the entire event had been staged.

“The assertion underscores how the rise of cheap and widely available AI tools has given misinformation peddlers a handy incentive to cast doubt about the authenticity of real content – a tactic researchers have dubbed as the ‘liar’s dividend’,” wrote Chopra. 

Hany Farid, the co-founder of GetReal Security and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, noted that “we have analysed several of the videos (of Kirk’s shooting) circulating online and find no evidence of manipulation or tampering. This is an example of how fake content can muddy the waters and in turn cast doubt on legitimate content.” 

These falsehoods underline how facts are increasingly under attack in a “misinformation-filled internet landscape, an issue exacerbated by public distrust of institutions and traditional media”.

The solution

Ditch the need for a cheap thrill or a “scoop” which adds nothing to clarify any real-life tragedy. Our scramble for clicks in the so-called “mainstream” media should elucidate and not confuse matters.

For now, in South Africa, it is best to stick with matters, or dots, as they reveal themselves at the Madlanga Commission. It will be up to the commissioners to do a deep dive into the real evidence brought to the table.

People like sidelined Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu, as well as his controversial predecessor Bheki Cele, must come and speak for themselves. DM

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