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Cape Town – Media24 announced on Sunday that it would investigate the controversial blog "Could It Be Time To Deny White Men The Franchise?” published on Huffington Post South Africa on Thursday.
Huffington Post South Africa removed the blog on Saturday after it was unable to confirm the veracity of the source, Shelley Garland, who claimed to be a Masters student at the University of Cape Town.
In the blog post, Garland argued that white men should be denied the right to vote for 20 years.
In a statement, Media24 CEO Esmaré Weideman said the post has damaged the Huffington Post South Africa and Media24 brands.
“Responsible journalism is at the heart of what we do; it’s the currency we trade in,” she said.
“When our systems fail, we’re not just alarmed, we’re outraged. This is a sad day for journalism.”
Huffington Post South Africa is a joint venture between Media24 and Huffington Post international.
Fury erupted on social media on Friday after it was established that Shelley Garland was not a student at the University of Cape Town and most likely an imposter.
Huffington Post South Africa subsequently removed the blog on Saturday and promised to increase scrutiny when publishing future blogs.
“We apologise for the oversight. We welcome further discussion,” editor-in-chief Verashni Pillay wrote in a blog post.
“We have bolstered and strengthened our blogging procedures that, until now, have operated on the basis of open communication and good faith. From now on, bloggers will have to verify themselves.”
* News24 is a Media24 publication
