On the 19th of June 2024, a media outlet ran a story on Renaldo Gouws regarding a video he made in 2010. They left out critical information and posted a 15-second snippet of a 6-minute video to create a damaging narrative. This snippet completely changed the context of the video and caused a media and social media storm that, as a result, created a narrative that Renaldo is a "racist" and "unfit to be a public representative". His party membership has been terminated and he has lost his position as a Member of Parliament.

The press ombudsman found the media outlet guilty of breaching the press code four times in this article. The more noteworthy breaches they were found guilty of were "practices that could lead readers to doubt the media's independence and professionalism" as well as "Photographs and video/audio content shall not misrepresent or mislead nor be manipulated to do so."

The media outlet has subsequently continued to post negative articles and opinion pieces regarding Renaldo Gouws and has refused to update their initial article to provide more context. They have also not adjusted their initial article to reflect the full video, after being aware of it for months now, and continue to only showcase a snippet of the video which equates to 4% of the full video thus leaving out the remaining 96% of the video.

Many have called this article a hit piece and a planned smear campaign against Renaldo Gouws. The media outlet's posting of the article led to other media houses picking up the story and spreading the misinformation posted in the original article. The reputational harm, emotional distress and negative impact on prospects of future employment this article has caused Renaldo simply cannot be measured. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident as many mainstream media outlets misuse their platforms to create narratives on people they disagree with.

Renaldo has been a dedicated public representative, for the last 8 years, he has served his ward, constituency, province and country with distinction. He has raised hundreds of thousands of Rands for orphanages, has fed thousands of people through his soup kitchens, assisted final-year students in paying their debts to graduate and assisted people in rebuilding their homes who lost everything due to fires.

It's time to stand up against these outlets, who act in bad faith, and hold them to account for the false narratives they drive. The role of independent media is to report on news truthfully, fairly and accurately. As we have seen over the last few years there is a clear agenda that has been infused into how some media outlets report on certain individuals and thus their neutrality has to be brought into question.

ALL funds raised during this fundraiser will go towards the legal fees of Renaldo Gouws against the media outlet to hold them accountable for the libel they have spread about him. It's long overdue that the media outlets who spread dis/misinformation experience consequences for their actions, especially if their goal is to ruin the reputation and the life of someone who they politically disagree with. We are fully aware that certain media outlets have decided to target individuals who has certain beliefs that don't align with those of the media outlet and that these media outlets are willing to use their platform to destroy the reputations of those that don't share their beliefs.

Enough is enough, it's time for us to push back and show that there are consequences for media outlets that misuse their platforms at the expense of those who's lives they ruin with their mis/disinformation. It's time that the these outlets stop abusing the constitutional protection afforded to them and lastly, stop abusing the trust of their readers.

Please Note:

We have used an overseas platform so that media outlets can't publish articles to put pressure on local crowdfunding platforms which puts pressure on them to remove the fundraiser. This was done previously against Renaldo and the specific crowdfunding website. You can donate via debit/credit card or Paypal.

All funds raised beyond the final legal costs will be donated towards a legal team that can assist the next person who has been targeted by mainstream media. Renaldo has pledged that, if he wins his case and there is a monetary finding in his favour, he will match the amount raised during this fundraiser and pay it forward to the next person who has been affected by false reporting by the media that led to the reputational harm.

Thank you so much for assisting us in this fight for justice!