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Calls to boycott Dis-Chem are intensifying after major shareholder Mark Saltzman attacked journalist Redi Tlhabi over Gaza on social media.

Gaza, philanthropy and power: Dis-Chem drawn into online political storm

Calls to boycott Dis-Chem are intensifying after major shareholder Mark Saltzman attacked journalist Redi Tlhabi over Gaza on social media. The confrontation has sparked wider…

SAPS already recognises the digital terrain but recognition must evolve into localised practice. Photo Delwyn Verasamy

Crime is increasingly detected online but policing remains offline

Being digitally present is a form of accountability: it signals that the station is not hiding behind central bureaucracy when communities are scared. It also enhances…

In solidarity: This group of protesters condemning violence against young people in Kenya, do so at a time when illegal and unconstitutional
detentions are common and crackdown legislation is consistently used to block peaceful gatherings in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Photo: Ezekiel Aminga

Elections and power in the digital age

These prosecutions mark a rising pattern: as elections approach across Africa, the distance between digital civic space and state power grows

Elon Musk. (File photo)

EDITORIAL | We must all reclaim our information space

A few powerful men control the dominant means of creating and sharing information in 2025

Social media is being used to fuel xenophobia and hatred.

Unfiltered and unfinished: How social media reveals South Africa’s struggles with racism

Racist posts can go viral in seconds, showing the world that South Africa’s divisions are not history, and reminding us that we still have work to do

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) wants the Competition Commission to impose an unassailable obligation on Google, Meta and X to give more prominence to trustworthy news content on their platforms.
 (Photo Illustration by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Reporters Without Borders wants big techs to give more prominence to trustworthy news content on platforms

The media freedom group said a provisional report by the Competition Commission in February ‘clearly recognises journalism’s value in the content circulating on online platforms’

(John McCann/M&G)

Tweeting ministers, silent ministries: SA’s missed opportunity in digital governance

Those in government must stop using social media for public relations and start using it as a means of two-way communication with citizens

US President Donald Trump said this week that the tariff is meant to address the trade imbalance between South Africa and the US. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP/picture alliance)

Diplomacy by tweet: Trump, the spectacle and the politics of chaos

To resist this performance politics, characterised by shock-and-awe tactics through social media, we must organise and mobilise in different spaces rather than merely engaging…

Misleading narratives are inflaming tensions between Southern African Development Community and East African Community nations.

The era of misinformation and disinformation is a global crisis

The battle against this manipulation is collective, requiring unified action from all who seek to preserve democracy and human rights

President Cyril Ramaphosa called Elon Musk to correct his reading of South African policy, and as part of efforts to resolve the turbulence in ties with Washington, the presidency said on Wednesday. (@PresidencyZA/X)

Presidency: Ramaphosa corrected Musk’s misconception of SA

President Cyril Ramaphosa hopes to hold discussions with the US’s Donald Trump to move beyond ‘current disturbances’ in South Africa’s relationship with Washington

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

Imagining a better digital public sphere

X, Facebook and Instagram exercise ordinate and often pernicious power, which must be contested and socially enriching alternatives developed

More than 70% of adults surveyed in 25 countries perceive the spread of online misinformation, the global economy and terrorism as major threats in 2025, a new report from the Pew Research Centre shows.

Tech is already being used to manipulate us

From Egypt to South Africa, fake accounts, bots and generative AI are manipulating African politics. And 2024 is a record year for elections

X marks the spot: American author Ben Mezrich uses his access to South African-born billionaire Elon Musk’s closest associates to bring readers the inside story in Breaking Twitter. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Toe-to-toe steers ‘Chief Twit’ from the brink

This is an edited extract from Ben Mezrich’s new book called Breaking Twitter

X marks the spot: Elon Musk’s X is in trouble in Australia over abusive content. (Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Musk’s X launches court fight with Australian watchdog

The billionaire has cut more than 80% of the platform’s workforce, including moderators tasked with stamping out abusive content

While major world events typically trigger a deluge of falsehoods, researchers say the scale and speed with which misinformation proliferated online following the weekend’s deadly assault on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas was unlike ever before. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tech firms struggle as Israel-Gaza falsehoods explode

There are fears that misinformation could trigger real-world harm, amplifying hate and violence especially in conflicts such as in Israel/Palestine