Cape Town – The South African government has responded to reports linking a former farmer, Sebastiaan Jooste, to a controversial social media account accused of spreading hate speech and misinformation online.
Media reports claim that Jooste, a 46-year-old former farmer, is behind the X (formerly Twitter) account “Boer” (@twatterbaas), which has allegedly shared racist content, hate speech, and false narratives — including unfounded claims about farm murders reaching genocidal levels.
The process of identifying Sebastiaan Jooste as the owner of the “Boer” @twatterbaas account followed tried-and-tested open-source investigation techniques but relied extensively on biographical and geographical information he posted himself.https://t.co/NqWIri1yfJ
— News24 🇿🇦 (@News24) April 29, 2025
In a statement released on Wednesday, government expressed concern over the alleged actions, affirming that law enforcement agencies are actively investigating the matter.
“Appreciating that law enforcement agencies are continuing to investigate incidences of misinformation, the Government strongly condemns deliberate acts of misinformation and promotion of racial hatred,” the statement read.
“South Africa is the first country to protect freedom of expression is a constitutional right, but this does not offer protection for hate speech or deliberate misinformation. Law enforcement will not hesitate to act against those who violate the laws of the country regardless of their colour and creed.”
Addressing the specific claim that farm murders are occurring at a genocidal scale, the government cited crime statistics from the South African Police Service (SAPS) indicating that only one white farmer was murdered during the third quarter of the 2024/25 financial year.
“While every murder is one too many, claims of increased scale of farm murders is a lie. Law enforcement agencies are actually winning the fight against farm murders.”
The government reaffirmed its commitment to protecting all residents, including farmers and rural communities. It called on citizens to act responsibly online and to reject the spread of hateful content and disinformation.
Spreading hate speech and misinformation is a criminal offence, the government said.
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Source: The Conversation
