‘Sickening’ story falsely reports death of coach
FORMER Cardiff Blues coach Gareth Baber has described a fake news report about him being killed in a car crash as “sickening” and “horrible”.
The story, which was posted on the glonews360.com website, claimed the Fiji Sevens coach had been one of two people to die in a crash on New Zealand’s South Island.
But Baber is very much alive and has spoken to the Western Mail from Cape Town, South Africa, where he has just arrived to prepare for the next leg of the World Sevens Series.
It seems the fake story first appeared about a month ago and it has resurfaced in the last day or so, with some people innocently re-posting it on social media and expressing their condolences, believing it to be true.
“It isn’t very nice at all to read that you have died,” said Baber.
“It’s pretty upsetting to be honest. It’s just horrible.
“When you are away from family and travelling the world, you don’t want people to hear that kind of thing.
“If a member of your family were to see it, it would be a terrible shock.
“I first saw it about a month ago on a fake news site. It said I had died in a car crash in New Zealand.
“I contacted my mum and the rest of my family to let them know I was fine.
“I haven’t spoken to them yet about this one, but thankfully they know I am not in New Zealand.
“I was in Dubai for the Sevens over the weekend and now I’m in Cape Town.”
A close examination of the details in the fake story reveal it is actually based on a genuine report of a fatal road traffic accident in New Zealand from July of this year.
The location is the same and the name of the person who is supposed to have died along with Baber is actually that of one of the people who was killed in the real event.
“Saying that about me is one thing,” said the former scrum-half.
“To think they have used someone else’s name who has actually died is horrendous. It is sickening.”
The fake report also contains biographical details about the 45-yearold Baber, who played for Oxford University, Cardiff, Pontypridd, Aberavon, Bristol and the Dragons before moving into coaching.
This is the third time a fake story related to Fijian rugby has appeared on the internet in recent years.
In 2016, there was an erroneous report about Baber’s predecessor as national Sevens coach, Ben Ryan.
Then earlier this year, there was a fake story about Fiji’s Test captain Akapusi Qera having died after collapsing during training. Qera, like Baber, is very much alive.