Government wants you to report fake news in two minutes on REAL411

The government’s official X account, Government of South Africa, has urged South Africans to report suspected harmful or misleading online content through the REAL411 platform, saying a report can take as little as two minutes.

The post, published on 5 November, opens with a warning not to let misinformation and disinformation “spread unchecked” and directs readers to the REAL411 reporting link. It carries the hashtags #MisDisInformation, #REAL411 and #SeeSomethingDoSomething, and states that a report “can make a difference in combating false information and promoting responsible online communication”.

The post does not set out what happens to a report once it is filed, who assesses it, what categories of content REAL411 covers, or what the platform can do about material it finds to be false. It also does not give examples of the content the government has in mind.

What the post does establish is the government’s own position: that it treats public reporting as part of how misleading online content should be handled, and that it is directing people to a specific channel rather than asking them to respond to individual posts.

The account published the message with a single photograph attached.