AMSTEL MALTA AND THE SUSPENSION OF LOGIC

I don't normally involve myself in most WhatsApp inspired frenzies. Not only do most of them have a very short shelf life, also because some are created to cause mischief.

Once in a while, one strikes gold, a contribution so profound you just have to share. Even that comes with its own downside, because if one is not privy to the context under which it was originally posted, one could unwittingly lend his reputation to a well orchestrated distortion of fact.

That was why I ignored a trending stories/pictures/video about a fake Amstel Malta in circulation.

Since I turned 50,my wife had tried to reduce my access to sugary drinks within the house. And the low sugar mantra of Amstel Malta means that it is the dominant malt drink stocked at our Berkeley Estate and Odo Ona Elewe homes.

At the onset, she was satisfied with my explanation about the why the two cans were different, but after the same video continued to circulate on her multiple WhatsApp platforms, I had to take more than a cursory look at the video.

The first thing that stuck me was that this was a professionally done video. The acting was horrible, but it was clear this was not a spur of the moment recording.

I can understand how such a video could cause mass hysteria, but multiple viewing still did not answer certain logical questions, and therein lies the challenge.

I still consume the drink, and so do my family. And we will continue to do so until the Videoman answers the following questions:

Did he buy only one can, or was it in a pack? Did he return the can and its content to where he bought it?
What was the reaction of the seller?
Did they isolate the pack and traced its source?
What is the current status of the matter?

Like I said, sometimes one has to be extremely careful about some of the stories/pictures/videos out there, before one unwittingly help those with an agenda spread a deliberate falsehood.

My Ten Kobo+