Why People Share Conspiracy Theories Even When They Know They Are Untrue

[WhiskeyGrinder]

18. Because the photograph was produced by an outstanding photographer, some of whose work borders

borders on the exploitative, and it's well-documented.

https://publicdelivery.org/roger-ballen-twins/

To this day, the artist has never revealed the real identity of the twins, where they stay currently (if they are even still alive). However, Roger Ballen only explained how he came to meet the twins.

He said:

I was staying on a game farm with my wife and children. I drove to the town to buy something and saw Casie working in a garden. I got out of the car and greeted him. I didn’t know how much he understood. He couldn’t talk too well, so I asked his mother for permission and got him to stand against a wall so I could photograph him. Suddenly, I became aware of a shadow. I turned and saw his brother. It was amazing, such a strong figure.

But the family reported a different account of the events. According to the family, the twins’ mother never met with Roger Ballen, nor did she give him permission to take his sons’ photograph. The family reported that the mother of the two boys was hurt and saddened by how her sons were portrayed in the book that was seen by an entire world.

It is hard to understand which side speaks the truth. The twins, however, are said to be happy all the time, perhaps not knowing that they became a center of attention in the entire world.

(snip)

The twins, only identified as Casie and Driesie, were put in a home for mentally challenged individuals in a small center in North West South Africa. Casie and Driesie were born in a place called Outjo, present-day Namibia, but moved to Wolmaransstad alongside their mother. They later returned to Namibia after their mother died and stayed with their brother and his wife. Then they were put in the nursing home because their relatives could not provide proper attention as the twins needed special care.

Here they are in 2011, as documented by Herman Verwey:



These are people used as a punchline all over the internet and it's heartbreaking.