Shop and awe: Black farmers' group 'triggered spaza raids'

Farmers United of South Africa (Fusa), a group whose mission is to become a “major black economic force”, appears to have been among the first to spread rumours on social media about fake food.

The resulting violence against foreign shop owners in Soweto, who were falsely accused of selling “fake food”, caused the deaths of four people last week.

A video of Fusa members raiding a foreign-owned shop went viral a week before the violence broke out and appears to be the first social media post around fake food. But when contacted for comment, Fusa said: “The relevant authorities will surely respond to your requests. Keep calm, as you are doing your job, so are our authorities.”

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