News24’s Gaslighting and Propaganda: The Truth Behind Akkerland’s Sale and Expropriation

News24’s attempt to rewrite history and deceive the public about Akkerland’s controversial land sale is not just misleading—it’s an outright cover-up. By falsely claiming that the farm was sold privately in November 2018 for R80.5 million, the media outlet is attempting to bury the truth of an earlier, much darker narrative. Through selective reporting and contradictory statements, News24 is peddling propaganda to distract from the reality of expropriation without compensation. Let’s break down the lies they are spinning and hold them accountable.

In their recent article dated February 6, 2025, News24 tries to convince the public that Akkerland Boerdery was sold privately for R80 million, denying the farm’s connection to South Africa’s controversial land expropriation policies. However, this claim is a blatant distortion of history. In their own 2018 article, News24 reported that the farm was selected by the government as a test case for expropriation without compensation. The article explicitly states: “While government is willing to pay for the land, the Akkerland case comes as the ANC’s top structures have decided over the past weeks that government must urgently proceed with test cases in order to test the concept of expropriation without compensation.”

This stark contradiction exposes News24’s duplicity. The farm was not merely sold—it was caught in the crosshairs of a government agenda aimed at testing the limits of land expropriation policies. News24, conveniently ignoring this historical context, now attempts to bury the truth by shifting the narrative to one of a private sale. This is an outright gaslighting tactic, manipulating public perception and erasing key facts from the timeline.

Adding to the evidence of governmental involvement, Theo De Jager, Chairman of SAAI, revealed that Afriforum had leaked a document listing properties for potential expropriation, and Akkerland was at the top of this list. This leaked document, alongside the 2018 article, strengthens the argument that Akkerland was being targeted by the government for expropriation, a fact that News24 has deliberately ignored or minimized.

But News24’s gaslighting doesn’t stop there. They are actively covering up a pattern of systemic land grabs aimed at shifting the ownership of agricultural land for strategic and financial gain, especially in areas rich in minerals. This is part of a much larger, orchestrated effort to undermine private property rights under the guise of land reform. The fraudulent narrative pushed by News24 is nothing more than a smokescreen for the ongoing theft of land, masked as a “test” of expropriation policies.

News24’s attempts to distort the truth about Akkerland’s land sale are not just misleading—they are deliberate acts of gaslighting, intended to obscure the real agenda behind expropriation without compensation. The truth is clear: Akkerland was part of an effort to test the waters for land grabs, and News24’s revisionist reporting is nothing more than propaganda. As citizens, we must demand accountability and call out such lies for what they are. News24’s misleading coverage serves only to further their own agenda while ignoring the crucial questions of property rights and justice in South Africa.