The Daily Maverick’s latest hit piece, riddled with lies and deliberate distortions, is nothing short of a desperate attempt to deflect from its own unethical foreign funding practices and bias.
Following the developments in the Trump administration, particularly his announcement that USAID, a foreign funding mechanism would be dismantled, IOL reached out to directly and indirectly USAID funded media entities like the Daily Maverick to ascertain what the impact of a loss of international funding they have been enjoying for many years would mean for their operations.
The Daily Maverick, released a story earlier on Saturday claiming that the questions sent to them by our reporter Thabo Makwakwa was some audacious attempt to twist the truth. They also published a picture of Independent Media Chairman Dr Iqbal Survé for some strange and obscure reason.
Why would the Daily Maverick dodge legitimate questions over their funding or potential loss of funding, especially when they cry poverty at every turn?
Lest we forget, The Daily Maverick’s foreign funding has been a talking point for many years now, particularly how their foreign funding influences their editorial positions and their reluctance to reveal their funding sources.
Remember these important stories about the Daily Maverick and foreign interests capturing their newsroom ;
Roscoe Palm: The NED’s Victory Lap — South Africa at a Crossroads in a Multipolar World
Manufacturing consent: How the United States has penetrated South African media
A non-captured, independent media is the fulcrum of democracy
How Daily Maverick's Funders Turned It Into a Propaganda Machine
What made the Daily Maverick think they were so special that they would need to distort legitimate questions sent to them in the manner they have done is baffling but we suspect IOL has struck a nerve around their foreign funded propaganda operation.
Here are the facts:
- The Daily Maverick has for many years been funded directly and indirectly by foreign agencies including the Open Society Foundation, which received funds from USAID and other entities.
- The Trump administration has said their investigations are pointing to USAID being a CIA disinformation front, which means by extension The Daily Maverick could also potentially be a disinformation and or propaganda vehicle.
- The questions sent to the Daily Maverick were fair and relevant in light of the above developments around USAID.
- The above and other local funding patterns influenced the Daily Maverick’s editorial positioning which led to their pro-GNU approach and their Pro-Ukraine stance.
- Every time the Daily Maverick is questioned about their funding they seem to go on the attack, in particular leading a campaign against IOL, putting the livelihoods of journalists at risk.
If the Daily Maverick really does not have anything to hide, then surely they would have no problem releasing a full list of their funders. We wait with bated breath.
IOL