By Shu’eib Hassen
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AA) – Hundreds of protesters gathered at the offices of public broadcaster SABC on Monday to condemn the coverage of anti-government demonstrations across South Africa.
Campaigners have claimed the publically-funded broadcaster has applied censorship to its reporting of hundreds of protests under pressure from the ruling African National Congress.
“There have been editorial decisions to censor protests and limit external editors,” Mark Weinberg, an activist with Right2Know, told Anadolu Agency. “SABC is a public broadcaster but executives are serving investor interests and the government to suppress the truth.”
He added: “The SABC is the most influential media in the country. Censorship will create a fantasy world and this will be detrimental to our democracy.”
Street demonstrations have become the main outlet for discontent at President Jacob Zuma’s government on a range of topics, from corruption to the cost of education, in recent years.
According to the Institute for Security Studies, there were 2,880 public protests in South Africa between 2013 and 2015.
“No right thinking person would support the destruction of public facilities in the name of protest, and all media houses in this country have condemned such vandalism, but reporting on such acts in their fullest possible way by the media allows South Africans to know what is happening,” the National Editors’ Forum said in a recent statement.
Broadcasting watchdog, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, has issued an ultimatum to the SABC to justify editorial decisions. It has until the end of Monday to respond.
Media Monitoring Africa last week complained to the authority that SABC’s reporting was contrary to the 1999 Broadcasting Act.
Hacker group Anonymous Africa has threatened a cyber attack on SABC if the censorship does not stop.
SABC’s Chief Operating Officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, is at the center of criticism. Activists claim he is too close to Communications Minister Faith Muthambi, whose resignation they have demanded.
