Polling takes on ominous intent as SA approaches election 2024
18 March 2024
ActionSA will be taking action against South Africa’s unregulated polling industry and those in the media who have become enablers of political disinformation under the guise of legitimate polling.
On 10 March, 3 media outlets published a poll without any reference to the origin of the poll. The same journalist previously published a poll in August 2022 with the same media outlets, also without referencing the origin of the poll. The names of the outlets and the journalist shall remain unnamed to avoid any claims of victimisation.
In both instances it is believed that the poll in question was a DA poll shared with these media institutions and, in turn, deliberately published without reference to the age-old question of cui bono – who benefits? The journalist goes as far as to confirm the poll was shared confidentially and that its origins are an institution with “an excellent track record” in polling.
For this, ActionSA has lodged a complaint with the Press Ombud against these media outlets because Section 1(2) of the Press Code requires them to “present news in context and in a balanced manner, without any intended or negligent departure from facts whether by distortion, exaggeration or misrepresentation, material omission or summarisation;”