I'm not suggesting The Star was lying when it implied on Monday that Cyril Ramaphosa had signed off on the ANC using a military jet for its Zimbabwe jaunt. Not at all.

Yes, some of my colleagues in the media continue to insist that that newspaper, being part of Iqbal Survé’s Independent Group, is essentially the SA version of Russia Today or Fox News. But I think this is extremely unfair. Russia Today and Fox News both employ at least three actual journalists, and the propaganda they produce is sophisticated, effective and often entertaining. This is not the case with Survé’s titles...