[By Guancha Observer, Shao Yun]

When US President Trump met with South African President Ramaphosa on the 21st, he suddenly showed a video and clippings to accuse South Africa of "genocide against whites," which made the scene extremely awkward. But more awkward was that on the 22nd, AFP and South African media found out that one of the so-called "evidences" given by Trump in his "evidence" was actually a photo taken during the escalation of conflicts in eastern Congo (Kinshasa) in February this year, but it was misattributed to South Africa.

Reportedly, on the 21st, Trump held up a clipping titled "Talking About Africa: Where Tribalism Will Take You" during their meeting. The clipping featured an enlarged picture of Red Cross staff wearing protective gear moving body bags.

Trump claimed that the bodies in the picture were "white farmers burned alive." AFP

Trump claimed that these bodies were "white farmers burned alive." However, simple searches can reveal that the original article notes that this picture was taken from a YouTube video released by Indian media WION in February this year. The footage shows Red Cross personnel conducting rescue operations after a mass prison break in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). During the incident, several women were raped and burned alive.

The article was published on a little-known conservative blog called "American Thinker." Public records show that after Trump's defeat in the 2020 election, "American Thinker" published multiple articles accusing the election of fraud. However, after being sued, the site publicly admitted that its claims about the election were "completely wrong and without factual basis," and that the website had relied on "unreliable sources spreading debunked theories."

The screenshot of the video shown by Trump, actually shot in DRC, "American Thinker" website

Further fact-checking by South African "news24" website on the 22nd found that although some of the "evidences" presented by Trump have confirmed farm attacks and murders, many are misleading. Some are previous statements by South African government leaders, intended to lead the audience to believe that the content represents the official stance of the South African government; others are from online posts, blogs, or unverifiable sources, exaggerating the events.

For example, Trump explained an aerial view showing rows of white wooden crosses as "burial sites for white farmers," claiming there were "over 1000 graves." In reality, this image records a peace protest held near Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, in September 2020. The protest aimed to denounce farm attacks.

It is worth noting that while the cause of this protest was the murder of a couple of white farmers, these white crosses were commemorative and not the "collective graveyards" implied by Trump's words. Darrell Brown, who organized the protest, told South African local media SABC at the time: "Each of these crosses represents nearly ten commercial farmers murdered over the years, with a total of 500 crosses."

Are white farmers in South Africa being targeted for murder? BBC reported on the 22nd that currently available public statistics do not divide victims by race, making it impossible to provide evidence for Trump's repeated claim of "genocide against whites."

According to data from the South African Police Service (SAPS), last year South Africa saw more than 26,000 murders, including 44 cases targeting residents of agricultural communities and 8 cases targeting farmers. Data compiled by the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU), which represents farmers, based on media reports, social media information, and self-reports from members showed that last year, 23 white people died in farm attacks in South Africa, and 9 black people died. So far this year, TAU has recorded 3 white people and 4 black people dying in farm attacks in South Africa.

After Trump's accusations were exposed by media fact-checkers, American netizens on social media immediately expressed embarrassment.

"This is extremely embarrassing for the American people; the US president casually flips through obviously unread printed news articles to launch personal attacks on a foreign head of state at the White House," wrote Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior researcher at the non-profit organization American Immigration Council and former immigration lawyer.

Reichlin-Melnick added in his comments: "I find it hard to express to my fellow Americans how bad things look from abroad. We are being ridiculed, and we deserve it."

This year, relations between South Africa and the United States have remained tense. In February, Trump criticized South Africa's new Expropriation Bill, accusing the South African government of "confiscating land" and constituting racial discrimination against whites. He issued an executive order to cut aid to South Africa. Elon Musk, who is favored by Trump and born in South Africa, also criticized South Africa's land reform policies multiple times.

In March, South African Ambassador to the US Rasool was expelled by the U.S. side for calling Trump the leader of a global white supremacist movement during a seminar. On March 23rd, after returning to South Africa, Rasool said that South Africa could not restore its relationship with the U.S. at the cost of national dignity and sovereignty. In a written statement, he said he hoped to mend relations between the two countries because it was important for both sides. However, South Africa "cannot be bullied," and the relationship between South Africa and the U.S. must be "one of mutual respect."

On May 20th, US Secretary of State Rubio stated at a Senate hearing that the US chose not to participate in this year's G20 meeting hosted by South Africa, whether at the level of foreign ministers or presidents, because South Africa consistently disagrees with US policies. Previously, Rubio also refused to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in South Africa in February.

The South African government said that the claim that South African whites are being persecuted is "completely false." On May 12th, Ramaphosa said at a business conference in Ivory Coast that he recently told Trump that the South African government is working to correct historical mistakes caused by colonialism and apartheid. Some groups are taking advantage of this to feed incorrect information to the US government, portraying whites as "victims."

In February this year, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation issued a statement saying that the basic premise of the US administrative order regarding South Africa contains factual errors and ignores the painful history of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa. "We are concerned about this political propaganda campaign aimed at distorting our country and spreading misinformation. It is disappointing that this narrative seems to be recognized by US decision-makers."

This article is an exclusive contribution by Guancha Observer and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7507280502311748136/

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