Fake news site spreads false claim about 14-hour load shedding this winter

News24

4 days ago

A widely shared claim that South Africa will face '14 hours of daily load shedding' in June is false, and has been rejected by Eskom as disinformation.
The rumour began circulating this week after a fabricated article was published on a website called Rise Up West Virginia - a domain that poses as a US-based news outlet, but is in fact part of a network of fake news websites likely operated from India.
A second story published on the same site on Wednesday appears to be an attempt to capitalise on the viral spread of the earlier claim. The article, headlined 'Load shedding rumours cause panic', goes into specific - and fabricated - details about South Africa's electricity crisis.
Comically, a site linked to the network also published a similar story, with a headline reading: 'SASSA confirms extended power outages'.
News24 ran both articles through content checkers, and both were deemed to be at least 80% the work of generative artificial intelligence.
In response, Eskom confirmed the claims as disinformation.
'Eskom categorically rejects the false claims circulating online about a 14-hour outage or imminent load shedding. These reports are completely untrue. The power system is stable, and load shedding has remained suspended since 22:00 on 15 May 2025. There are no planned outages of this scale,' an Eskom spokesperson said.
While in context, Rise Up and its related websites are visibly dubious - with sensationalist factually incorrect headlines, poorly edited AI content, and bylines attributed to unknown journalists - the articles become more believable when stripped of context and reshared on platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and TikTok.
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Many posts now appearing on South African social media about the alleged power cuts include only the text of the false claim and occasionally an Eskom logo, creating the impression that they come from an official source.
This form of disinformation is deliberate and part of a growing pattern of coordinated fake news campaigns targeting high-interest issues like power cuts, fuel prices, and national security.
As News24 previously reported, a growing network of websites run by foreign agencies is using fake news to drive clicks. These sites mimic the tone and layout of legitimate media outlets, misleading readers and generating ad revenue while eroding trust in real news sources.
Although the electricity grid is often under pressure during winter, any changes to load shedding will be announced through official channels. Eskom urged South Africans to remain vigilant about false claims and to verify information directly through its website or its official social media accounts on X and Facebook before sharing.