Fiction lives on social media

In the beginning there was Kamo

On Monday morning, Twitter broke out with the story of Kamo, a lively, lovely and young female who had plans for her future, as an Actuarial Science graduate, and a professional Tennis player in the making.

Kamo went missing, her friend, boyfriend and partner were worried as they were supposed to meet with her that afternoon. Her car was found, and with bloodstains inside. Good news, Kamo was found, but the bad news is she had been abducted, ended up in hospital from fatal injuries and organ failure, and her father had to switch off the life-supporting machine her life depended on and she died. Kamo Peterson is survived by her father. The End!

©ragsac via 123RF

I may not be as creative as @JustKhuthi on the Twitter-verse with chapters of her 70-part Twitter story, but South Africans were surely on a standstill, sending out condolences to Khuthi and her family, as well as messages of #RIPKamo. It was a huge outcry, even The Star newspaper reported about it.

What is going on?

I found myself thinking, "is this where the world is going to? Is this the kind of attention human beings seek on social media? Is this a cry for help, perhaps psychological help?" I cannot argue that Khuthi has so far proven to be a creative writer, she gives others a run for their skills, but the length of her cry made South Africans roar with grief and disappointment when it was found that the story is fictional, and Kamo was created by Khuthi, and Khuthi was in fact Kamo.

It becomes an alarming situation when our media then react to social media news, and run with a story without verifying the facts, and speaking to credible sources. It's almost as though the 5Ws and H are answered by people on the social media space.

Social media for skills and creatives

Somehow I found myself thinking perhaps Twitter is becoming a platform to showcase one's skills. I mean, when we found out that Kamo was a fictional character, other users on the platform said Khuthi needs a bursary in the creative space, we even saw Generations: The Legacy creator, Mfundi Vundla tweeting that she is creative, and responses to him were that he should perhaps hire her as a writer.

The awareness

I have to give it to Khuthi though, she alarmed South Africans on the issues of crime and the Department of Women tweeted "Violence against women and children is real. Khuthi story may be fake but in reality there are many of #Kamo's out there."

And Khuthi said "Thank you guys for all your kind and comforting words. Your response is overwhelming and I hope this raises awareness."

The End!