Teen's family faces fear after AI image falsely links him to Driftsands murder

The family of an 18-year-old is devastated after an AI-generated image falsely linked their son to a deadly shooting in Driftsands, near Khayelitsha, where one man was killed and another wounded.

Police are investigating a murder and attempted murder case after two friends were shot while waiting for food at a local spaza shop last month, when three armed men opened fire randomly.

The victims were waiting for their order when a vehicle pulled up, and three armed men got out and opened fire at random. 

A video that has since gone viral on social media shows one of the victims being shot in both legs, while the other was shot in the head - both friends were rushed to a nearby hospital, but one of them died on arrival.

The teenager's family say the video, with AI generated images, has seen the teen facing threats and they feel unsafe in their own home.

The ordeal began on Sunday, March 15, as the family was preparing to leave for church.

"A neighbour came to our door and told us there’s a video circulating, and people are saying it’s our child," the family said. "She kept insisting that the (shooter) is our son. We could not believe it. It was as if our world stood still. We all froze."

The claims stem from a widely shared video of a fatal shooting outside a spaza shop in Driftsands, where 19-year-old Litha Govuza was killed. The footage captures two voices, one allegedly instructing the other during the shooting, but the suspects’ faces are not visible.

Despite this, an AI-generated image has circulated on social media, falsely claiming to reveal the identity of one suspect. This image appears to be taken from the original video, but it shows the face of the "suspect."

The family believes that image was created by someone that knows them and used their son’s photos - the widely shared image has now been interpreted as real.

"People are treating that image like it is a fact. They are sharing it everywhere and saying they are looking for him, but he is not in the picture. It’s something someone created," they said.

By the time the family returned home from church, they say their phones were flooded with calls from concerned relatives and friends who had seen the posts online. It was then that the full scale of the situation became clear.

What followed afterwards, they say, has been a thread of threats that have left them all deeply shaken.

"We started getting death threats on Facebook, with people saying they will kill him and even kill our whole family," they said. "One message said, ‘we will come for you when you have forgotten’. But how do you forget something like this?"

The fear has since changed how they live day to day.

"We don’t even sit with the doors open anymore. Every car that passes, every person walking by, we don’t know who believes those lies or who might act on them. We are constantly looking over our shoulders, just waiting for something we don’t even know is coming."

The family believes the image was deliberately created and shared to cause harm.

"Someone took his pictures and made that image so people would believe it’s him, and now it’s spreading faster than we can stop it," they said.

They insist their son was at home at the time of the shooting and say proving his innocence in the face of viral misinformation, has been overwhelming.

"He was with us that night, we know where he was. But how do you prove that to thousands of people online who have already made up their minds?"

The family reported the matter to police but say they were left frustrated by the response.

"We hoped they would help stop this or at least say something publicly, but they told us it would take a long time to trace who is behind the account. They also said they cannot help clear his name while the investigation is ongoing."

They believe a public statement from authorities could help slow the spread of misinformation.

Describing their son, the family said the allegations are completely out of character. They describe him as a quiet and kind teenager who keeps to himself and spends most of his time at home or at school.

The family recently relocated from the Eastern Cape and say their children are still adjusting to a new environment.

The family is currently looking for help with a place of safety that they can go to while they wait for police to conclude their investigations.

At the time of publication, the SAPS had not responded to requests for comment on the AI image.

However, police spokesperson FC van Wyk said the suspects fled the scene and remain at large. 

"The second unidentified male was busy recording the whole ordeal and shouting at the gunman to shoot. The footage was collected from surveillance cameras in the area, and it became clear that this person is considered a person of interest and can assist in the investigation," said Van Wyk.