Did South African woman give birth to 10 babies?

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According to the viral news, the image of Gosiame Thamara Sithole from the Tembisa township near Johannesburg with an over-expanded stomach went viral like wildfire and led to the coining of the term 'decuplets'.

Fact Check

The news is False.

News of South African woman Gosiame Thamara Sithole from the Johannesburg went viral on social media. It was further reported by many mainstream media. It was also covered by BBC News world, Hindustan Times, Times of India, and Livemint.

However, many mainstream media debunked the viral news. While performing the Keyword Search, we found reports by Pinkvilla, Indian Express and India Today that had earlier debunked the viral news.

The report by Pinkvilla stated that 37-year-old, Gosiame Thamara Sithole shocked the world with her made-up news and is reportedly now being held under the Mental Health Act for observation Pretoria News claimed that the hospital tried to dismiss the story to cover up their medical negligence.

It was clear from the reports that a 'Pretoria News' had reported the news.

Gauteng government through the official Twitter account denied any such delivery.

Meanwhile, a report by Timeslive stated that Pretoria News editor Piet Rampedi has apologized to his colleagues for the damage his story on SA's so-called "Thembisa 10" babies caused to Independent Media's reputation.

In the interim, the publication and its online platform IOL doubled down on the story, continuing to profess its accuracy and, at one stage, saying that health authorities were part of a cover-up.

In a letter to Independent Media's editor-in-chief Aneez Salie, Rampedi apologizes for how the story was handled. However, he accused other media houses and journalists of scrutinizing the story simply because he wrote it and because it was published by an Independent group title.

The report of his apology was also published by News24.

According to the report, the national health department maintained there was no record of the delivery of decuplets in Gauteng.

Sithole was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

In his email, Rampedi wrote, "I am sorry for the reputational damage the aftermath of the story has caused for the group, the company and my colleagues in general. I am fully aware that the story, and the general response, put all my colleagues in an awkward position and under immense public pressure."

It is therefore evident that the South African woman did not give birth to 10 babies. The editor of Pretoria news that had published the news has now apologized. The hospital had also released a statement denying any such news.