Social media post about 'abandoned baby' a hoax
A story doing the rounds on social media about a baby found abandoned at Greenacres Shopping Centre in Port Elizabeth at the weekend is a hoax, according to the police.
According to the post, which originated on Facebook on Saturday morning, the infant was then taken to the Mount Road Police Station.
"Police confirm that there were no such reports nor did anyone drop off any child [at the station]," said police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg.
Janse van Rensburg said while social media was at times a helpful medium for the public and the police, hoaxes, fake news and the dissemination of false information merely caused panic in the community.
"Such misinformation is reckless, irresponsible and unacceptable," she said.
"The police urge social media users to verify and confirm such information with them before posting and circulating, thus avoiding the misinformation from going viral."
Janse van Rensburg called on all social media users who had published, seen or circulated the hoax to ignore it and to refrain from further sharing the false information.