Members of the US Congress supporting the passing of the US–South African Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025 (HR 2633) voiced their fears to National Security News about the subversion of press freedom in South Africa by the South African State Security Agency (SASSA).

Congressional leaders from both the Republicans and Democrats expressed grave concern about several cases in which whistle-blowers are being targeted by SASSA, working hand in glove with journalists from News24, a digital media platform owned by Naspers and Prosus, listed in Amsterdam.

The extent of this collusion was revealed in a landmark ruling this week when the South African Press Ombudsman found News24 and its editor-in-chief, Adriaan Basson, guilty of publishing disinformation about SAAI, a leading South African farmers’ organisation led by Dr Theo de Jager, who visited Washington DC in June 2025 as part of an Afrikaner delegation.

At the centre of the case is a national security issue addressed by President Trump in his Executive Order on South Africa of February 2025. He described the issue as “unjust and immoral” and as “a national security threat” to the United States, referring to the ongoing dispossession of South African farmers by the ANC.

According to the South African Press Ombudsman, Kyle Cowan of News24, under Basson’s leadership, published an article that grossly misrepresented the facts surrounding farm expropriation and land rights. News24’s reporting portrayed the legitimate concerns of affected farming communities as “conspiracy theories” without offering credible counterbalance or verification. The outlet failed to consult key sources, neglected to seek comment from those accused, and constructed a one-sided narrative that effectively delegitimised victims of property rights violations.

The Press Ombudsman found that:

• Basson’s article contained material falsehoods about land dispossession and farm seizures, contributing to public misinformation on an issue affecting the livelihoods of ordinary South Africans, food and rural security, racial reconciliation, and US national security
• News24 and Basson’s reporting deliberately targeted whistle-blowers by vilifying dissenting voices, lacking fundamental fairness in dealing with SAAI as a whistle-blower on unjust land expropriation
• News24 and Basson ignored requests for correction, refused to issue a prominent apology, and engaged in editorial stonewalling when confronted with evidence of misreporting
• Most damningly, the Ombudsman concluded that the piece amounted to a “deliberate distortion” of a sensitive national issue, effectively framing public concern about farm seizures as illegitimate or extremist while denying those accused and vilified the right to reply

When asked for comment on the Ombudsman’s ruling, Basson said: “We are still discussing our next steps, as you would know that we have 7 working days to appeal the ruling.”

Basson added that News24 does not have any policy or controls about its journalists engaging with SASSA as a secret intelligence agency to source stories for publication.

A senior Congressional staffer said: “This ruling is not just an indictment of one article by Basson and News24, it is an exposure of News24’s editorial bias and its craven willingness to sacrifice journalistic integrity in service of SASSA’s operations, which are being directed by the Minister for Intelligence reporting directly to President Ramaphosa.”

News24 has, in recent weeks, repeatedly shown itself to be an active participant in SASSA operations targeting high-profile South African whistle-blowers.

When Rob Hersov, a widely respected international business leader, raised concerns during a high-profile visit to the United States about ANC corruption, state failure, and the extent of the funding the ANC receives from Iran, News24 launched a vicious attack on his character and reputation. In a calculated hit piece written by Andrew Thompson under Basson’s direction, News24 attempted to undermine Hersov’s credibility by spreading calculated disinformation about South African crime statistics under the guise of “fact-checking.” The article attacked Hersov’s credentials as a South African patriot speaking out in the national interest.

Similarly, Emma Powell, a highly regarded Member of Parliament for the Democratic Alliance (DA), became a target after exposing a deception by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) regarding the rejection of Mcebisi Jonas’s credentials as a Special Envoy to the US. Powell was later vindicated when South African Foreign Minister Lamola, in answer to her parliamentary question, admitted that Jonas had never visited the United States.

Powell fought back when she was targeted by the Minister for Intelligence, who leaked a classified SASSA report to the Sowetan based on illegal surveillance conducted by a SASSA agent in Washington DC on her and Andrew Whitmore during their visit in February 2025. Instead of supporting a courageous whistle-blower, News24 journalist Carol Paton worked closely with SASSA to publish a lengthy hit piece on Powell, relying entirely on anonymous allegations sourced from SASSA and its paid agents. Paton’s article was clearly designed to undermine Powell’s credibility, neutralise her parliamentary work, and isolate her from her party for further persecution.

Powell commented: “It is clear that there is an insidious political agenda at play, in which taxpayer-funded state security services are potentially being weaponised against sitting Members of Parliament in order to achieve political objectives. Both the potential surveillance of a sitting Member of Parliament by state security services as well as the targeted leaking of a classified report in a clear attempt to tarnish and intimidate such a member in performing her duties are serious criminal offences under South African law. This follows on the back of General Mkhwanazi’s revelations of organised crime having infiltrated the Police and State Security at the highest levels. On the evening of 16 July, the DA’s lawyers wrote to both the President and the Minister of State Security requesting an urgent investigation into both the commissioning and leaking of such an alleged report. There is no place in a constitutional democracy for Members of Parliament to be actively surveilled by the State in performing their functions and representing their political parties on the international stage.”

News24 did not disclose that the MTN Group, the co-owner of MTN-Irancell, the digital platform of the Iranian Ministry of Defence that is the subject of four different lawsuits in the US for alleged support of Iranian terrorist operations worldwide, is one of the largest paying media partners of News24.

A Congressional leader said the courageous reporting done separately by Hersov and Powell on the ANC’s ties with Iran is of vital importance to national and international security. She noted that the US, the UK, France, and 11 other allied nations issued an unprecedented joint statement last week on the serious threat of Iranian terrorism worldwide.

“It is a disgrace that Basson and his fellow ‘journalists’ are putting targets on the backs of brave South African leaders and whistle-blowers at the behest of SASSA. If anything were to happen to these brave South Africans for speaking out about the Iranian threat, we will hold the journalists who colluded with SASSA accountable.”

Another Congressional leader said that, in light of General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s recent serious allegations about senior politicians’ involvement in the assassination of whistle-blowers such as Armand Swart, and the infiltration of SASSA by violent drug cartels involved in these contract killings, News24’s reporting is clearly and knowingly putting the lives of these South African leaders at risk.

Congressional leaders are now urgently discussing the merits of recommending the incorporation of a section specifically on protecting whistle-blowers, combating disinformation, and ensuring media accountability in HR 2633. The view is that this will be essential to protect press freedom as a cornerstone of constitutional democracy in South Africa at a dangerous time when it is being subverted. It appears that the media accountability measures President Trump introduced into the White House are now also heading to South Africa.