Hilarious or 'insensitive'? City of Joburg Twitter account catches heat for road safety meme

19 November 2021 - 08:00
By Kyle Zeeman
An unknown man runs across the street in a viral video shared on the City of Joburg's Twitter account this week.
Image: Twitter/ City of Joburg An unknown man runs across the street in a viral video shared on the City of Joburg's Twitter account this week.

The City of Joburg is an MVP on the Twitter streets for the hilarious memes and clips it shares with followers, often using these to bring across important social messages to residents.

But one clip shared this week really got feathers ruffled.

The account shared a meme video of a man walking down a street. As a car stops next to him, the man suddenly runs back in the direction he had come from. The car reverses to try to catch up with him.

He runs across the road, cutting in front of another car, changes direction, and runs for his life.

The video is from 2019 and does not appear to be from South Africa.

The account reminded people to "wake up" in a message about road safety.

While many found it hilarious, others said it made light of crime, and the city should focus more on policing and citizen safety than making memes.