Dew Water: no Ebola, no deaths, just a hoax that refuses to die

CLAIM: Dew bottled water, which killed 180 people in Nigeria, is being distributed in South Africa

SOURCE: WhatsApp message

VERDICT: False

A message on WhatsApp claims that poisoned bottled water from a Tanzanian company is being distributed in South Africa. The claim is that from Tanzania, the water was distributed in Nigeria where it killed 180 people. 

Interestingly, the message implores the recipients to conduct a Google search to confirm the veracity of these claims.

A search on Google does the very opposite. The results return a number of fact checks that have been carried out over the years showing that the message is a hoax. 

The message that has resurfaced now is in Zulu. And contains another twist.  The variation claims that the water is contaminated with the Ebola virus. 

The message first appeared in circulation about 14 years ago in 2011 and appeared again in 2017 here on Facebook. It has been appearing now and again on social media platforms since then. It is the first time though that it has been translated to Zulu with claims that the water is now being distributed in South Africa.

When the claims first appeared, the Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) investigated the claims in the warnings and found that they were untrue. In June 2011, NAFDAC issued a public statement refuting the claims. 

The agency asked members of the public to disregard the warnings, noting that, ‘NAFDAC hereby informs the general public that the text message is false and mischievous as there is no poisonous water imported into the country’. The agency statement also noted, ‘Investigations so far by NAFDAC in several hospitals across the nation showed that there was no incident of hospitalisation or death arising from consumption of Dew water, or any other brand of water’. 

Moreover, if 180 people had really died from drinking contaminated bottled water – in Nigeria or elsewhere – then the tragedy would have been extensively reported by the news media. And, of course, there would have been immediate and well-publicised recalls for the contaminated products along with official health warnings. No such news stories, recalls or health warnings have been published.

Some of the fact checks that have debunked this hoax have been from Africa Check, PesaCheck and Dubawa, among others. 

Conclusion

There is no contaminated water containing the Ebola virus in circulation in South Africa. The message is a hoax from over a decade ago and has been debunked a number of times.