For those of us who lived through harassment, intimidation, and the propaganda warfare under the apartheid government, we became very familiar with the term ‘Stratcom’. Stratcom was the strategic communications plan developed under P.W Botha’s administration and deployed by a specific police unit that was used to spread invented stories to tarnish the reputation of key political figures and anyone opposed to the ruling party of the time.
Fast forward to 2021 and under the current ANC administration, we are witnessing a resurgence of stratcomesque disinformation.
Stratcom, then and now, have several things in common. Firstly, they were almost exclusively run by a specific grouping within the security police operatives in concert with a specific grouping of journalists. Secondly, they targeted specific individuals with the dedicated aim of corrupting their reputation and undermining their position in society. Thirdly, they were very well funded - during the apartheid years and now. Lastly, they used the media to spread their infamous words and seed their perspective.
If it aint broke, don’t fix it, so the same methods used under apartheid are working today – select specific people, hurl unsubstantiated allegations and inuendo out into the public domain, and often enough, through so-called credible media platforms and publications, so that fiction becomes accepted as fact. Punctuate this with photographs, certain headlines, social media back-up, and hey presto – a veritable rogues gallery is created.
These disinformation campaigns are made all the easier in this data age, as the rise of social media has ensured the rapid dissemination of information. This is further entrenched by the ever-lessening ability for anyone to distinguish fake news from reality.
Around two weeks ago, I wrote about the nexus of Daily Maverick, amaBhungane and News24/Media24 – MavComm - all funded and financially supported by individuals and businesses that accumulated wealth during apartheid. This triumvirate are utilising the very same tactics to drive a story line that supports a specific objective – anyone with enough clout to raise attention, who dares to question them are automatically targeted and blackguarded.
To underscore this, today’s ‘story’ dropped by amaBhungane, is the third article in as many weeks rehashing the same falsehoods and ignoring Sekunjalo’s repudiation responses, which accurately counter each lie published – none of which are ever carried by these media.
From the beginning of our ownership of Independent Media in 2013, the company and myself, have personally experienced several disinformation and reputation attacks. However, from 2018, there has been a highly sophisticated, smear campaign led by the Daily Maverick, amaBhungane and News24, each re-publishing the same article with similar headlines and images, usually within a short space of time of the other, to create the impression that there are multiple articles about the same story. In so doing, they expose themselves and their ’strategy.’ The co-ordination is clear and incontestable.
These publications have a complete disregard for the truth and are only focused on undermining Sekunjalo, me, and Independent Media. Yet, they themselves are the puppets of the masters who would only have a singular narrative, one which supports the re-emergence of pre-democracy capital, enforced by a pre-democratic security apparatus.
I will repeat what I previously said. They will not determine the future of Sekunjalo and or Independent Media, as they did not determine the liberation of this country in the past.
Time is not on their side and their growing desperation is being seen for all to witness, in the increasing number of articles and deepening smear campaign they fling out.
But they should know that our freedom, as the former forgotten people of South Africa, was hard fought. We will not go willingly to lay down on the sacrificial altar of our democracy, and, as the Irish poet Seamus Heaney says “the river will always flow on the right side of justice.”