Oliver Mtukudzi dies….AGAIN!

By Robert Mukondiwa

Legendary Musician Oliver Tuku Mtukudzi has died…again.

A screenshot of the fake news site announcing Tuku's 'death'

The super-star was the victim of yet another internet fake news proliferation which saw a murky site calling itself The Daily News saying he had passed on.

It is the umpteenth time that the gravelly voiced darling of Zimbabwean and African music had ‘died’ in the media and he didn’t seem particularly perturbed by the fresh wave of dung and gutter news from the wires.

While he was ‘dying’ online, Tuku, who laughed off the report to close friends and family, was in fact kicking hot jams in his studio at Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton, a few kilometres outside Zimbabwean capital Harare, readying himself for a series of concerts in Zimbabwe and abroad in his festive season itinerary.

“I am used to that nonsense and it will not distract me,” said the man with the elephant totem bellowing through his throat which spits beautiful sound with the palate of broken glass and beauty to close friends.

But while ‘Nzou’ may not be perturbed and be and may be used to the usual drivel of fake news, the issue of fake news sites has started to take the world by storm with some making thousands of dollars per day selling cheap falsehoods to a gullible readership.

The United Sates has even had losing presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton voicing her concerns on smear against her at the hands of fake news sites.

And while some people have the great eye for fake news and can fact-check, several more people have fallen for the trap and the results are often very disastrous and emotionally nerve-wreaking and devastating.

“The key thing for people to do is always check from credible sources and cross check from other more reliable news sources and if three or more are carrying the story it probably has some truth to it,” said a lecturer in internet for journalism in the Netherlands.

And readers of robertmukondiwablogspot can rest assured knowing they are part of that privileged elite that reads only verified fact-checked truth.

The king, Oliver Mtukudzi, is still churning great hits on his throne.

Long Live Tuku!