PICTURE: TREVOR SAMSON Under apartheid, political news was what the government allowed us to know. Now it is what politicians and the journalists to whom they "leak" stories want us to know. In both cases, we battle to tell truth from fiction.A report claiming that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan faces "imminent arrest" follows the fashion among political reporters by relying on "leaks" from politicians or officials. So common has this become that most of our political news is based on leaks; a senior political reporter covered an entire ANC conference by sitting in a Johannesburg café, relying on text message leaks from politicians.On the surface, the willingness of politicians to share confidences tells us what we would not otherwise know. But it is just as likely to mislead us. Political battles in this country are fought through leaks: politicians and officials use them to strengthen their position and weaken opponents.They are not feeding stories to reporters because they want ...
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