Bolt blocks users participating in prank ride requests amid online beef between South Africa and Nigeria

X, formerly Twitter, has become the battle ground for South African and Nigerian social media users. Picture: Unsplash

X, formerly Twitter, has become the battle ground for South African and Nigerian social media users. Picture: Unsplash

Published Aug 23, 2024

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As the online trolling between South African and Nigerian X users continues, Bolt said that app users participating in pranking Bolt drivers with ride requests have been blocked.

The prank, which presumably started out as a joke, quickly turned into a social media frenzy for the e-hailing service after an X user, @NimrodErnest1, revealed that he made Bolt requests in Nigeria when he was bored.

The prank became a social media challenge for South African X users resulting in Nigerian app users also retaliating against South African drivers on the app.

Responsible social media users alerted Bolt to the ongoing pranking and the e-hailing service stepped in.

“Those responsible have been blocked from the Bolt app. We prioritise the safety and integrity of our platform and are committed to supporting our driver-partners,” said Bolt.

In another generic responses to social media users, the e-hailing platform said it had also blocked inter-country ride requests as part of measures to stop the prank requests.

Nandos also experienced the negative effects of the prank with social media users revealing that Nigerian users were pranking South African delivery workers using a loophole of cash on delivery for food.

Users were of divided on the antics with many pointing out that the online trolling had negative effects for both countries and was detrimental for the hard working drivers that are being pranked.

X user, @LadyM1306, said: “I don’t care who says what but requesting an Uber in Nigeria while you’re in SA is cruel. You then justify what Nigerians in SA are doing when it comes to drugs.

“My question is what did those Uber drivers in Nigeria do to u. Their economy is so bad yet you do such to a black man.”

Another user, @tshepo_maphepha, said: “It is very sad and inhumane 💔😢 Jokes should have limits, especially when they have to do with messing with other people's plate of food.”