After being called out by HonestReporting for publishing blatant propaganda and outright lies on several occasions, it would appear that South Africa’s oldest news site Independent Online (IOL) has still not learned its lesson.
This week, the outlet printed a piece reporting the news that a “pro-Palestinian lobby group, Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions South Africa (BDS)” is urging the Swimming South Africa sporting body to withdraw from the World Junior Swimming Championships in Israel next month.
First, describing BDS South Africa as merely a “pro-Palestinian lobby group” requires considerable mental gymnastics. This is, after all, a group that campaigns for an economic chokehold designed to alienate and eventually dismantle the world’s only Jewish state.
[elementor-template id="323780"]Second, a deeper dive into the article reveals it is nothing more than BDS propaganda masquerading as legitimate news.
The entire piece is actually based on a BDS South Africa press release that was published on its website. There is no indication Swimming South Africa is even considering boycotting the event in Israel, and the group’s attendance is confirmed on its website.
Worryingly, there is no indication that the author of the piece, political journalist Sihle Mavuso, even bothered to contact Swimming South Africa for comment. This is despite the fact that the so-called “right to reply” for subjects mentioned in news pieces is considered an ethical obligation by reputable media organizations.
A quick scan of the press release upon which the article is based also reveals it to be replete with misinformation about Israel that has been sloppily regurgitated by IOL, including its claim that more than 200 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year and repeating the well-worn apartheid libel.
Mavuso, whose X (formerly Twitter) account reveals he holds extreme anti-Israel views, even managed to insert his own little lie into the story.
In the last paragraph, Mavuso refers to how BDS South Africa also pushed for the Orlando Pirates soccer club to pull out of a match against Maccabi Tel Aviv, which he falsely claims is “based in the capital city of the Jewish state.” As our readers will know, denying that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital or downplaying the Jewish connection to the holy city is a common tactic used by BDS supporters.
Hey, @ZANewsFlash.
When you decided to incorrectly label Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital, you could have at least spelled it correctly.
Jerusalem is Israel’s capital city. Period.@IOL please fix it.https://t.co/IKKgHFlxJ7 pic.twitter.com/qkaaReP0Gb
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 30, 2023
HonestReporting has since filed a formal complaint with IOL.
In addition to pointing out that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, we expressed our disappointment that a news organization would uncritically republish the slanderous lies of an organization that supports the destruction of Israel.
“We trust that the capital city error will be corrected and hope that IOL will reconsider giving BDS South Africa a free platform to spread anti-Israel hate,” our email concluded.
IOL and some of its journalists clearly have an anti-Israel ax to grind. How embarrassing that they are so willing to abandon journalistic integrity to further this warped agenda against the Jewish state.
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
