'Alternative profiles': a new type of article

A recurrent theme in a lot of my public interest writing these days is that ‘these people are not who they purport to be - and therefore what they say cannot be taken at face value’. What has been striking for me over the last 5 years in particular, is how many of the misrepresentations I have discovered can be tied to particular individuals, organisations and networks of those individuals and organisations. In many of the cases, the facts and history do not accord with the public image. After a while, these patterns work both ways: once you have identified the people and organisations that tend to be associated with particular kinds of misrepresentations, you can also unearth misrepresentations by seeing that these same people and organisations are involved.

Unfortunately, many media and ‘civil society’ organisations actively mislead their audiences and the public whose well-being they claim to be concerned about. I have already written what are effectively alternative profiles of RiseMzansi and the significance of its Brenthurst Foundation links, Rivonia Circle and Rob Hersov.

Here are just some of the subjects I have planned for more ‘alternative profiles’:

• Social Research Foundation (and Frans Cronje)

• Michiel Le Roux and the Millenium Trust

• Richard Spoor and Richard Spoor & Associates

• Lawson Naidoo and CASAC

• Judith February and Freedom Under Law

• Mavuso Msimang and Corruption Watch

• Institute for Security Studies and Jakkie Cilliers

• Naspers and Koos Bekker

• Gayton McKenzie and the Patriotic Alliance

• Imtiaz Sooliman and Gift of the Givers

• Branko Brkic and Daily Maverick

• Sithembile Mbete (and Future Elect)

• Sizwe Mpofu Walsh (and SMWX)

• Adam Habib (former vice chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand)

• Wim De Villiers (outgoing chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch)

• Songezo Zibi

• Herman Mashaba

• Zackie Achmat

• Ta-Nehisi Coates [international]

• Elon Musk

And many more…

If any of those profiled choose to reply, I will post their replies on the same page. (Subject of course to their responses satisfying basic standards of discussion and debate).

Stay tuned.