Retraction and apology to News24, Wicks, Cronje and Wilson. See Editor’s note below.
By Masibongwe Sihlahla
Media houses play a critical role in the dissemination of quality, accurate information in a democratic and free society, yet this very function has become a tool to spread fake media news to achieve political ends.
News24’s latest attack on Independent Media and its owner, Dr Iqbal Survé, has nothing to do with serving the public.
It is in the category of misinformation, propaganda, half-truths, rumours and other forms of inaccurate content that spread constantly over digital social media platforms.
In a world of fake news, journalists must sift through information, separate truth from falsehood, and stand up for the truth, no matter how unpleasant.
Sadly, News24 seems to have no scruples when it comes to the dissemination of propaganda and fake news to achieve petty political ends, as demonstrated by the three stooges Nick Wilson, Jan Cronje and Jeff Wicks article which depicted unverified claims and propaganda, similar to online rumours and other viral fake news content.
Before the truth has had time to tie its shoelaces, fake news has spread around the world.
Media houses such as News24 have a vital obligation in a free and democratic society to ensure this is the case If they want to be the vanguard of democracy as they so often boast and other myths they spread to delude themselves.
Various media pundits in South Africa and overseas are aware of research that shows that news websites “dedicate far more time and resources to propagating questionable and often false claims than they do working to verify and/or debunk viral content and online rumours”.
A further critique is that “instead of acting as a source of accurate information, online media frequently promote misinformation in an attempt to drive traffic and social engagement" for clicks and monetising of their work.
An example of this is the hogwash which has become the current media fare of News24.
Wilson, Cronje and Wicks grew up under apartheid where the SABC was used as a blatant and unabashed tool for propaganda by the National Party.
Blacks were portrayed as communist-inspired agitators, and black leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu were constantly maligned as evil and wanting to chase the white man into the sea.
Afrikaners were portrayed as being chosen by God to civilise the black unwashed masses of Africa. They were told that they were the Israelites of Africa.
It is quite ironic of Wilson, Cronje and Wicks to use the word Goebbels in the title of their article as most Afrikaners were Nazi supporters.
Most of the National Party members at that time were members of the Ossewabrandwag, an Afrikaner resistance organisation based on Nazism.
Many journalists in the apartheid era were members of the Junior Rapportryers which we all know today were all sympathisers with the Ossewabrandwag.
Under Apartheid there was a deliberate policy to commiserate blacks in order for whites to enjoy a standard of living on par with no other society in the world.
Whites had a social safety net from cradle to grave. A white Afrikaner public school had unlimited resources and was better resourced than many private schools today which all came at a cost to the black child.
Wilson, Cronje and Wicks benefited from apartheid and it stands to reason they yearn back to the Golden Age of apartheid when white Afrikaners were king.
Today, they can no longer use the K-word to disparage blacks so they have become more sophisticated in disseminating their racist or supremacist ideas by spreading the notion to the black youth that black leaders are corrupt.
It appears that prominent black leaders only gain in News24 when the likes of Wilson, Cronje and Wicks slander, slur and slight their dignity and character.
Their article uses the words "glitchy", "slippery " and" propaganda machine" when any cursory inspection of their work depicts exactly those very words.
This just proves how arrogant they have become in their smear campaigns and do so with impunity expecting the public to eat it up like sweet cakes.
Their arrogance is mind-blowing considering the fact that many independent observers have noticed with alarm the way in which they routinely character assassinate prominent black leaders.
The three beneficiaries of apartheid have the gall to call into question the good work done by Independent Media who have demonstrated their independence from the government.
Dr Survé was an activist in the fight against apartheid when doing so meant you could be detained by the Security Branch and never seen alive again.
Not once do Wilson, Cronje and Wicks talk about the horrors of apartheid yet they have the time and energy to target people who sacrificed so much that they can enjoy press freedom.
Sadly, these three stooges' online vitriol is dressed up as news.
They used a time-tested trick of using partially accurate information, which can be easily verified, mixed with their disinformation to achieve their petty political and vindictive white supremacist views.
Sadly, the bar for producing fact-checked news for the public seems to be much lower where Wilson, Cronje and Wicks are concerned.
Their widely used devious practices in online news is misleading and confusing to the public who depend on News24, a so-called reputable media house.
These nefarious practices reflect short-sighted thinking that ultimately will expose them for the frauds they are in undermining black success in South Africa.
Wilson, Cronje and Wicks appeared to have applied little or no basic verification to the claims they make thus making readers believe it to be fact.
They rely instead on sloppy journalism by linking to other media reports.
This does not bother them at all as the end justifies the means i.e. to create propaganda deliberately engineered to disrespect and dehumanise.
Through the very intended and devious trick of planting fake news online, they know it will get autonomy all on its own; as we say colloquially, it gets a life of its own; they know it and thus relish the devastating effect it may have on the reputations of those they seek to undermine.
Sihlahla is an Independent Writer and Political Commentator.
The views contained here do not necessarily represent the view of IOL or the Sunday Independent.
Sunday Independent
EDITOR’S NOTE: Retraction and apology to News24, Wicks, Cronje and Wilson
In this op-ed piece published on March 13, 2024, certain disparaging remarks were made against News24 journalists Jeff Wicks, Jan Cronje, and Nick Wilson. However, upon further reflection and review, despite the piece being an expression of opinion, we acknowledge that these remarks lacked substantiation.
The Sunday Independent recognises the importance of upholding journalistic standards and providing fair and accurate commentary. In this instance, we regret any undue harm or offence caused by the lack of tangible references supporting the assertions made in the article.
The Sunday Independent retracts the aforementioned article and extends sincere apologies to News24, Wicks, Cronje and Wilson.