Alleged incidents of racism taking over South African newspaper headlines and social media feeds, only thereafter to be exposed as fake, have become a disturbingly regular occurrence. Fortunately, the latest attempt to burn another “racist of the week” at the stake, appears to have backfired spectacularly for those race baiters who fanned the flames.

The most recent victim of a social media, and eventually also a legacy media, racism witch hunt was celebrity braai master Jan Braai. The firestorm was sparked on 23 September, one day before the public holiday unofficially called “Braai Day”, which, ironically, was started in 2005 by Jan Braai himself.

The match that ignited the wildfire was a clip of mere seconds circulated on social media, which allegedly depicted Jan ignoring a coloured customer, while handing out free curry sausage rolls. This smouldering social media smoke was picked up by News24, a news platform with 6,2 million followers on X, who then eagerly and hastily fanned it into a front-page inferno. It is noteworthy that the initial News24 post also went out of its way to highlight Jan Braai’s real name, most likely to ensure that the resulting outrage was laser-focused and personal.

Under News24’s now-deleted post, social media users quickly pointed out that CCTV footage showed that the coloured man, who was allegedly “overlooked” by Jan, did, in fact, receive his free curry sausage roll. After allowing the outrage to boil and the clicks to roll in for a day, News24 eventually published a half-hearted, begrudging correction with something at best resembling a reluctant apology.

After being roasted for the audacity to put their apology behind a paywall, it was eventually opened to the public. This latest racism hoax, however, raises a few very concerning questions: What would have happened if there was no CCTV camera to capture the full story? Would Jan Braai just have been the latest innocent victim raked over the coals on false charges of racism?

The list of racism hoaxes and false allegations in recent years in South Africa is, unfortunately, quite extensive. One of the most recent cases was the incident concerning Pretoria High School for Girls, where 12 girls were suspended after they were accused of making racist comments in a WhatsApp group. The Education Department also suspended the school’s principal for allegedly not acting against racism at the school. A disciplinary committee found the girls not guilty of the racism charges against them.

In 2019, in one of the most horrific racism hoaxes, a photo by Elana Barkhuizen, a Grade R teacher in Schweizer-Reneke, was circulated on social media, showing four black pupils sitting separately from the white children in the class. This sparked fiery allegations of racial segregation and discrimination at Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke.

Barkhuizen was summarily suspended, and former North West Education MEC Sello Lehari disclosed her name to protesters and the media. For weeks, Barkhuizen was relentlessly attacked and depicted as a racist in the media and by political parties jumping on the Two Minutes of Hate bandwagon straight out of Orwell’s 1984.

Barkhuizen was exonerated of all charges of racism after trade union Solidarity stepped in to assist her at her disciplinary hearing. It was revealed that the photograph was not even of Barkhuizen’s class and that the seating arrangements were not discriminatory against the black pupils but were, in reality, based on their language needs, since this was an Afrikaans-medium school.

In 2020 it was Brackenfell High School’s turn to be embroiled in a racism hoax of its own, when the school was accused of hosting an unofficial matric ball, which allegedly excluded students based on race. The EFF staged multiple violent protests at the school, accusing it of hosting a “whites only” event. The South African Human Rights Commission’s investigation later cleared the organisers’ names when it found that the event did not exclude anyone on the basis of race.

False claims of racism seem particularly prevalent in the world of South African sports. In 2018, rugby pundit and former Springbok Ashwin Willemse stormed off a TV set after a Super Rugby match, accusing his co-panellists Nick Mallett and Naas Botha of racism. SuperSport later announced that both Mallett and Botha were cleared of all racism allegations after an investigation by Advocate Vincent Maleka into the incident.

In 2019, the then Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, posted a screenshot of Springbok fans whom he accused of displaying the old South African flag. Lesufi was later forced to apologise when other screenshots revealed that the fans were in fact donning the new South African flag. In 2021, former South Africa cricket test captain Graeme Smith was accused of racism and racial discrimination in the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings. Smith was exonerated in 2022 by an independent arbitration panel on all counts.

The list goes on and on. The staggering number of racism hoaxes in South Africa demonstrates clearly that the demand for racism incidents in South Africa far exceeds the supply. What all these hoaxes and false allegations have in common is the underlying theme of “wit gevaar” (white danger). The “wit gevaar” narrative postulates that South Africa is filled to the brim with white racists chomping at the bit to commit vile acts of racism, discrimination and hate. What do the peddlers of this vile narrative do when it turns out that reality does not match their myth? They simply reject reality by substituting it with fabrications.

Being falsely accused of racism is no trivial experience in South Africa. Especially in the internet era, such allegations carry with them the real risk of losing your employment, social exile, psychological trauma and even financial ruination. The modus operandi of the South African commentariat with these accusations is guilty until proven innocent.

Yet, when targets are finally exonerated, days, weeks or even years later, the reputational, psychological, and financial damage remains, while those who started the fire and fanned the flames get away scot-free or suffer the temporary embarrassment of posting a begrudging non-apology.

Due to the massive legal, career, social and financial implications of false racism allegations, the only way to curb the racism hoax industry is to hold these ruthless race baiters accountable. Falsely accusing someone in public of being a racist in South Africa needs to be treated in the same way as yelling “bomb” in an airport: you better have the evidence, or you will bear the consequences.

In the wake of this latest fake racism incident, droves have claimed to have cancelled their News24 subscriptions. I was swiftly blocked by the official News24 account after enquiring about the apparent absence of any consequences for those involved in the witch hunt.

If those who spread false racism allegations don’t feel the heat, the despicable practice will continue to destroy many more innocent people. It was an encouraging sight, though, to see how enthusiastically South Africans united on Heritage Day to grill these repulsive race grifters. Racism hoaxers should be served well done, preferably charred.

Ernst van Zyl is head of public relations at AfriForum and the director of the documentary film Selfbestuur (Self-management). Ernst obtained a master’s degree (cum laude) in Political Science at Stellenbosch University. He is a co-presenter of the Podlitiek podcast, hosts the Afrikaans podcast In alle Ernst, and has a channel for political commentary and interviews on YouTube. Ernst usually publishes contributions on X (formerly known as Twitter) and YouTube under his brand Conscious Caracal.