South Africans should not expect an apology from US President Donald Trump or right-wing US network Fox News for the misinformation they had spread about alleged land seizures in South Africa.
This was the contention of veteran US journalist and academic, Assistant Professor Jennifer Thomas, in reaction to Fox News’s Tucker Carlson.
Carlson had falsely reported on his show in August that President Cyril Ramaphosa had changed the constitution to seize white-owned land.
Trump then tweeted he had issued a directive to the US State Department “to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures”.
However,Thomas said South Africans should factor in that Fox News, which she said Trump often referenced, was not a credible source when it came to news reports.
“I don’t think you would get a response (of an apology) like that from Fox News and the president, in my opinion. It goes back to considering who the source of the information is in the news,” Thomas said.
Thomas was speaking in Joburg on Thursday, during a discussion hosted by Media Monitoring Africa.
Kate Skinner, the executive director of the SA National Editors’ Forum, said the organisation would
present workshops across the country’s newsrooms soon to bolster ethical reporting, especially in light of next year’s general elections.