News24 works with State Security as a propaganda instrument – Washington

Concerns have been raised in Washington over the erosion of press freedom in South Africa, with allegations that the State Security Agency (SSA) is undermining journalistic integrity. Lawmakers backing the US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025 (HR 2633) argue that the SSA’s actions threaten democratic principles. This is reported by National Security News, an outfit run by veteran journalists Sean Rayment and Linda van Tilburg, and intel specialists Isabella Egerton and Katie Frodsham.

A February ruling by the South African Press Ombudsman appears to have been the initial basis of these concerns. The ombudsman found News24, the successor to the state-backed media empire Naspers, and its editor-in-chief, Adriaan Basson, to be culpable of deliberately publishing disinformation about the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI), a farmers’ organisation led by Theo de Jager.

The ruling centred on an article by News24 journalist Kyle Cowan, which the ombudsman deemed a “deliberate distortion” of facts surrounding land expropriation and farm seizures. The article in question, is from February 6, 2025 – “No, Akkerland Boerdery wasn’t expropriated without compensation – owners sold it privately for R80m.” Authored by Andrew Thompson, it was found to have misrepresented facts about the 2018 expropriation of Akkerland Boerdery, a luxury game reserve.

The ombudsman found that News24’s “disinformation desk” breached the Press Code by inaccurately claiming Akkerland was not expropriated and omitting key context. Deeds Office records show the farm was sold privately for R80.5m in 2019, but a 2018 Land Claims Court order confirmed the property was expropriated, with ownership briefly vesting in the state before being restored after litigation.

The piece was criticised for misrepresenting the concerns of farming communities, failing to consult key sources, and neglecting to offer those accused a right to reply. The ombudsman rejected News24’s recusal request, citing no reasonable apprehension of bias despite the ombud’s prior role at Rapport, which reported on the issue in 2018. The ruling, a Tier 2 breach, mandates News24 to update the article, include the court orders’ context, and issue a reader apology, to be approved by the ombudsman and prominently displayed. 

News24 of course, hasn’t complied, but are appealing the ruling.

Nor would this be the first time the media house has acted on behalf of the ANC-run state, whether by coordination or independently. Earlier this year they targeted prominent X user “Twatterbaas” by releasing his address, and the locations of his family members, a move which can serve no other purpose than to invite violence and harassment of him and his family. Among the accusations against Twatterbaas was that he was spreading misinformation, and famously, the News24 editor Pieter du Toit held up an old graph representing the growth of the four main population groups as an example, neglecting to note that its origin was from a News24 article itself.

News24 has long been a sycophantic mouthpiece for the ANC, occasionally publishing stories of corruption, usually with a partisan spin favourable to a particular faction of the ANC led by Ramaphosa, only when they feel they could not get away with ignoring it.

A 2018 study by AfriForum researchers, which can be found in part in Ernst Roets’ book Kill the Boer, shows that South African media deliberately distort the racial representation of crime in the country:

The ombudsman further noted that News24’s reporting vilified whistleblowers, ignored requests for corrections, and contributed to public misinformation on a matter critical to South Africa’s rural security and racial reconciliation. The US congressmen issuing the statements also pointed to News24’s alleged collaboration with the SSA, citing instances where the outlet targeted high-profile whistleblowers.

For example, businessman Rob Hersov faced what critics describe as a “calculated hit piece” by News24 journalist Andrew Thompson after raising concerns about ANC corruption and Iranian financial ties during a US visit. Similarly, Emma Powell, a Democratic Alliance MP, was subject to a hit piece by Carol Paton, which relied on anonymous SSA-sourced allegations following Powell’s exposure of diplomatic missteps by South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation. Powell has since accused the SSA of weaponising state resources against parliamentarians, a claim bolstered by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations of organised crime infiltrating South Africa’s security apparatus.

Basson, responding to the ombudsman’s ruling, stated that News24 is considering an appeal within the allotted seven-day period. He denied any formal policy governing interactions between News24 journalists and the SSA, a stance that has drawn further scrutiny given News24’s ties to MTN Group, a major media partner linked to MTN-Irancell, which faces US lawsuits over alleged support for Iranian terrorism.

US lawmakers have framed these developments as a national security issue, echoing President Trump’s February 2025 executive order, which described South Africa’s land dispossession policies as a threat to American interests. News24 has consistently downplayed the threat of expropriation without compensation, and has avoided providing critical coverage of the worst elements of the legislative system being drip-fed through the National Assembly, particularly the Land Courts Act, which will institute kangaroo courts with no evidentiary standards, JSC oversight, admission of hearsay as evidence, right to dismiss evidence for the sake of expediency rather than merit, compensation for witnesses, and full legal immunity for judges for any and all potential crimes except domestic abuse.

Congressional leaders are now debating amendments to HR 2633 to address media accountability and protect whistleblowers, reflecting a broader push to safeguard press freedom in South Africa. 

Should News24 receive sanctions from the United States when the sanctions against the ANC come into play, it is doubtful that anyone will shed a tear for Basson.