Press Ombudsman rules in AfriForum’s favour and orders Sunday World to publish apology for false reporting

The Press Council Ombudsman today ruled that Sunday World had published false claims about AfriForum in August 2024 and ordered the publication to retract the allegations and apologise.

The 26 August article in Sunday World falsely claimed that AfriForum claims there is a “white genocide” happening in South Africa, as well as that the organisation “refuse to cry foul” about murders of black people.

According to the Press Omdbud’s findings, Sunday World accepted it was wrong to say that AfriForum claims there is a white genocide in South Africa and has offered to retract the allegations and apologise. The ruling further stipulates that Sunday World accepts that previous rulings by the Press Council, complaint 4366 against the Mail & Guardian (2018) and complaint 8395 against TimesLive (2021), have found this claim to be without foundation. Additionally, the Press Ombud upheld the complaint that Sunday World’s article breached clause 1.1 of the press code – to take care to report news truthfully, accurately and fairly – by reporting that AfriForum refused to condemn the murder of black people.

According to Ernst van Zyl, head of Public Relations at AfriForum, the organisation welcomes this vindicating ruling by the Press Ombud. “This is, however, not the end, seeing as AfriForum recently filed two additional complaints regarding further false claims recently published by Sunday World against the organisation. The first pertains to the absurdly false claim on the 10^th of November that the ‘Apartheid flag flew high’ at our protest against the Bela Act. The second complaint was filed regarding fabricated quotes about the ANC being attributed to Kallie Kriel being published on the 17th of November,” Van Zyl continues.

“It’s hard not to see a clear bias and even agenda against AfriForum in Sunday World’s reporting in the past few months. One false claim can possibly be written off as a mistake, but not at least three, especially not of this serious and blatant nature. The media’s job is to report the truth, not to try to deceptively influence politics and ongoing policy negotiations,” concludes Van Zyl.