In the first ruling issued by the Press Ombud against a publication for using a fake Facebook account as a source for an article, the Ombud, Johan Retief, has directed the Daily Maverick to apologise to the complainant.
Ms Lumka Oliphant, spokesperson for the Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini, had lodged a complaint with the Ombud against the Daily Maverick over an article which alleged that either she or the Minister had issued tweets while former CEO of Sassa Thokozani Magwaza and former Director-General of the Department of Social Development DG Zane Dangor were testifying in the inquiry into what came to be known as the Sassagate Scandal.
Tweets rolled out on what the Daily Maverick said were from Dlamini’s “official account” as the inquiry was going on.
In her submission to the Ombud, Oliphant said that her twitter account was different from that used to issue the tweets, and pointed out that the official DSD Facebook account was also different, as was the twitter handle.
She said that she had issued a media statement on March 31 2018 headlined, “Minister Bathabile warns of fake Facebook and Twitter accounts”.
She also stated in the media release that the Minister’s twitter and Facebook accounts were de-activated in January 2017.
Oliphant submitted that the Daily Maverick could have verified the account through a Google search and a blue tick but “the Daily Maverick had no intention of verifying any information”.
The Daily Maverick submitted that the story was of immense public interest, considering the sanction by the Constitutional Court with regard to her actions, and that the matter was an ongoing crisis that affected the lives of 17 million social grant recipients.
The Ombud said that, while the content of the tweets looked genuine, in fact they were fake.
He found that the Daily Maverick was in breach of the Press Code as the publication should have verified the contents of the tweets and, if it was unable to do so, should have stated it in the article.
For more information on the ruling, please visit our website, www.presscouncil.org.za