INDEPENDENT Media has, once again, come under fire from armchair commentators and a swathe of faceless social media mercenaries and bots of late, simply because it dared to present an alternative opinion to the country’s election and cabinet coalition conundrum.

The knives are out again to prevent Independent Media from continuing in business, but its these “haters” who could have the most to lose.

South Africa has a well-defined Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act, within which it is important to note that even nameless, faceless trolls on social media who propagate information – often false – that incites or provokes people to perform a desired action that causes harm, are held accountable.

This is what the law states: “The offence of hate speech applies to any person who intentionally publishes, propagates, advocates, shares or communicates anything to one or more persons in a manner that could reasonably be construed to demonstrate a clear intention to be harmful or to incite harm and to promote or propagate hatred based on defined grounds.”

No-one is above the law, not even the cowardly person/people behind the troll account whose X (formerly Twitter) handle, is @TheAnonymous_ZA. This faceless and nameless account has the gall to ask people to believe the content of their posts.

Or @MadDuck68317982 whose quacks are certainly quackers, vindictive and probably personal, given the blatant vehement nature of their incitement to kill a business.

One must ask, why should anyone believe someone who does not even have the power of their own convictions to go by name or reveal their face? What do they have to hide?

Not only are these recent posts, aimed at discrediting Independent Media, along with its chairman, Dr Iqbal Survé, filled with errors and supposition, but they also come dangerously close to breaking the law, with their incitement.

@TheAnonymous_ZA advocates as follows: “…we advise businesses currently advertising with these individuals to reevaluate their association, as it may compromise their reputation.”

@MadDuck68317982’s extortions: “ATTENTION: All Advertising agencies and Corporate Marketing Departments. A coordinated protest campaign will soon target INDEPENDENT MEDIA HOLDINGS & its subsidiaries, as well as companies that support this institute of fake and misleading news!”

The writers clearly don’t know their media either, as two of the publications mentioned in the @TheAnonymous_ZA post, do not fall under Independent Media, belonging instead to Arena Holdings. There are many other falsehoods too.

It should be noted that South Africa's legal framework, particularly the country’s hate speech laws, strongly opposes such divisive rhetoric that can harm societal cohesion.

Attacks on Independent Media and Survé surface periodically. This is usually when Independent Media has exposed some form of corruption or has a different take on the prevailing political narrative. So, why now?

That is obvious. Independent Media, whose audience mainly represent the country’s racial majority who were disadvantaged during apartheid, have published several articles that are clearly not as enamoured of the ANC’s chosen coalition, as perhaps its competitors in the media.

Not only that, but Independent Media also brought to light the racist rants of the newly sworn in Democratic Alliance (DA) MP, Renaldo Gouws as revealed by sister company, IOL.

For this, Independent Media’s journalists, editors and its chairman have been threatened – even with death – and an army of social media mercenaries have been contracted whose sole aim is to destabilise and shut down one of South Africa’s major media houses.

Independent Media is a vital part of South Africa’s media landscape, contributing significantly to the diversity of perspectives necessary for a healthy democracy.

It is crucial for businesses to support and uphold media diversity rather than be swayed by unfounded claims.

Spreading misinformation and inciting division not only undermines the integrity of the media as a whole but also goes against the principles of free speech and responsible discourse.

Independent Media urges everyone to fact-check and critically evaluate such posts before taking any action that could have widespread negative implications.

These are some of the accounts that are currently responsible for muck spreading and incitement against Independent Media and Survé, and who should be aware what they stand to lose if ever found guilty – not just their voice, but their freedom.

@TheAnonymous_ZA

@HeinzWakanda

@goolammv

@VerkleurmanSA

@MadDuck68317982

South Africa also has a well-defined freedom of speech law, so post whatever you like but make sure it’s factually correct, does not incite harm, and have the courage to stand behind it with your face and name.

Media Statement released by Independent Media