What is the motive behind death hoaxes?

L

ucius Banda, Thomas Chibade, Anne Matumbi, Ethel Kamwendo Banda and John Nyanga, populary known as Izeki, are among some of the Malawian celebrities that have died more than once.

Most of these rumours are created on social media and become viral once published.

And it is not an easy task to find the creators.

Lucius, who has been a victim of several social media death hoaxes, tells Chill that the motives of these death mongers stem from a lack of self esteem and confidence.

“Most of these people are people that are desperate for attention, they have tried posting normal statuses on the social media and they get few likes and comments so they try to create a big story by spreading rumours that a well known artist is dead,” says the self-styled Soldier.

Lucius shares his account on the reaction of his fans, friends and family after the rumour mill had it that he has passed on.

“I was very tired and had retired to bed early so my phone rang all night and I did not respond. So people who care about me had sleepless nights as they thought I did not pick up because I was really dead,” says Lucius.

Dancehall artist Anne Matumbi says it is very difficult to know what runs in the heads of the people behind these dreadful rumours as it is only those that do the act that can tell why they do it.

“However, I can hypothetically say that it might be the people that have pages on Facebook and try to make their pages popular and they know they will get more followership if they create such a hoax,” said the self crowned Nyakwawa.

The Amai hit-maker believes these people think they will get popular by cooking such rumours.

“Sometimes it’s the pressure of creating news everyday for their Facebook pages or twitter handles. They want to be heard so they create lies,” says Matumbi.

He echoes Lucius’ statement that these social media rumours are devastating to family and friends.

Musicians Union of Malawi president Chimwemwe Mhango describes the trend as sad and unfortunate, citing the impact the trend had on gospel musician Evance Meleka’s family.

“Family and friends of Meleka were very saddened with the rumour as they believed he was dead,” says Mhango.

He says, as a union, they are addressing this issue when they meet today.

“We know these people can be traced so we are going to find ways of tracing them and holding them accountable,” says Mhango.

He also pleaded with the people behind the rumours to desist from the act as they might kill some people with a heart attack.

New Media specialist, music enthusiast and director at Nyimbo Music Company Daud Suleman says the trend has come as a result of the freedom that is on social media.

“One can have a social media account with different names therefore remain anonymous. This can give them confidence to post whatever they want. People want to cause a stir in the society, but one would not say these posts are harmful physically, but psychologically,” says Suleman.

The IT geek argues that sometimes the rumours can earn a celebrity mileage.

“If people are able to talk about you on such platforms it means there is something you are doing right, other people would have been mentioned and no one would even notice,” says Suleman.

Professor of pychology at the College of Medicine, Chiwoza Bandawe concurs with Lucius and Matumbi that the issue is about people who have low self esteem as they seek for ways to be recognised as having done something notable in society.

“These people feel good when they cause a stir in the society, and individuals because they feel they have power,” says Bandawe.