A reversal of the struggle is unfolding in this country and the media is once again playing a key role. Media in South Africa has become a threat to democracy and continues to serve the interests of certain individuals.
THE South African media fraternity has seemingly become a platform for propaganda and smear campaigns mechanised to discredit and tarnish the reputation of prominent black individuals.
The last decade has seen media in the country go through an unprecedented transformation where now media has the power to drive change and usher in the new dawn through daily news publications that aim to educate and inform. Critical to understanding the role of media in our democracy, one then needs to investigate and comprehend whose interests are being served when certain narratives about black leaders are pushed.
A reversal of the struggle is unfolding in this country and the media is once again playing a key role. Media in South Africa has become a threat to democracy and continues to serve the interests of certain individuals. A typical reminder of a dark past that South Africa overcame through international support and the most impact that led to democracy that many enjoy today, came through media which now seems to be reversing all the efforts made to attain freedom.
It was the funders of Branislav “Branko” Brkic’s Daily Maverick who during apartheid enjoyed privileges and manipulated and disregarded basic human rights which at the time were standing in the way of profit. It is still the case today, profit and self-interest are seemingly surpassing even the interests of the entire country.
As the likes of Daily Maverick have joined forces with influential business tycoons who donate huge sums of money and will stop at nothing to see white supremacy thrive, perhaps, it is better to understand what is it that they stand to gain from discrediting and assuming the position of being the only credible news source.
The narrative purported by Daily Maverick has given much room for criticism towards black individuals. Independent Media is the biggest English news organisation in the country and has been a target of many attacks that aim to ruin the reputation of the media house, a case if allowed to dominate would essentially trigger a takeover which is something funders of the Daily Maverick have been insidiously organising.
Independent Media and related companies, as well as the employees, have suffered terrible losses both emotionally and financially all because of careless and bias reports that the Brkic’s Daily Maverick has commissioned to students and contributors who always come with predetermined narratives.
It has become clear that the funders of Daily Maverick are obsessed with controlling news and information that South Africans consume. Clear tactics used by the apartheid government are now used by individuals who were in cohorts with the then government. This is a typical example of the Hypodermic Needle Theory. The media is being controlled and manipulated by apartheid beneficiaries who believe that their rule and authority is the only avenue available for the country.
The Animal Farm in today’s politics still serves as a relevant and precise reflection of where media is in the country and the direction it is taking.
The Daily Maverick has been asked countless times to account to their subscribers who believe the viability of the publication solely depends on donations and subscriptions. To this day Brkic has not responded to questions about funding and monies received through donations.
For a publication such as the Daily Maverick that claims to be honest and publishes the truth, coming clean about their funders and financial records shouldn’t be a problem. After all, they have placed themselves as the watchdog of society and that energy needs reciprocation. Media is not a tool to overthrow government, but to hold those in power to account.
Certain powerful individuals who are in close proximity with the country’s leadership are initiating a brutal war through the media. The aim is to see black business entities being deprived of opportunities and seen as incompetent.
This narrative has allowed President Cyril Ramaphosa to enjoy so much privilege and not be taken to task and asked to answer for the lack of service delivery and the rampant corruption which he vowed to stop.
It is the same media houses that will stop at nothing to protect Ramaphosa and critical to understanding why this is happening one would need to visit Independent Media articles about the CR17 funders, some of whom may be the funders of the Daily Maverick of lies.
