SA needs journalists to stay put and uncover the truth rather than walking out
By fact checking what populists say, journalists — who are digging for the truth — can circumvent attacks, instead of falling prey to them
“The apartheid Stratcom, it’s alive,” EFF leader Julius Malema told supporters in Johannesburg in late November during an address outside the offices of this newspaper. He singled out a handful of reporters, editors and columnists from various publications for insults and attacks, and branded them the “Ramaphosa defence force”, demonstrating his avid and dedicated consumption of their writing in the process. The attacks continued the following week. Again addressing supporters in a passionate speech in Pretoria, Malema said the party does not want Sunday Times journalists to attend EFF briefings because, in his view, the publication’s reporters believe he is a bully. He recommended an immediate cessation of current and future interaction and encouraged his supporters to get information directly from the party via social media platforms, predicting a media blackout. These remarks came in between fights and insults directed at journalists, including one investigating allegations of co...
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