News24 The Lead

Revealing ‘Twatterbaas’, the X Boer who hasn’t posted since April

Loading player...
You may be wondering these holidays, around the braai, “hey, I can’t remember but…” what set off the US Trump Administration in 2025 to punish South Africa with tariffs, a White House press ambush, and a ghosting at the G20 in Johannesburg? Well, not one factor, person or organisation is to blame for the supreme souring of relations between Washington and Pretoria. Instead, a disinformation war waged online, using X and other social media sites, worked in concert to drive a very disingenuous and false claim that whites are being subjected to a genocide in our country. One account at the centre of it helped bring that narrative to the  eyeballs of Elon Musk, and thus the US president, was Twatterbaas. Joining us in this end-of-year Lead edition to reflect on his exposé of the man behind the busy X Boer profile is our very own Kyle Cowan. You can send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note with your questions or thoughts on the show: 072 562 3179. To advertise in the show: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
23 Dec 2025 English South Africa News · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Is the ‘prime lending rate’ just a load of BS?

Is the so-called “prime lending rate” – the fancifully advertised rate that banks use as a reference or pegging point to sell bonds and loans to us – just a giant load of untested BS? Why is it 350 basis points more than our much-deserved low repo rate, and isn’t…
14 Jan 25 min

Everything you need to know about the 2025 matric results

Back to school, back to reality… With schools about to reopen, senior education journalist Prega Govender takes stock of the 2025 matric results. Think of it like a scale: on one end, a greater average pass rate, while on the other, fewer pupils are taking critical subjects like standard maths…
13 Jan 32 min

Is KZN’s paper-thin coalition on the rocks?

Provincial coalition politics in KwaZulu-Natal are on shaky, uncertain ground, with the small kingmaker National Freedom Party trying to call the shots, threatening to pull out of the IFP, ANC, and DA government of provincial unity, leaving the MKP rubbing its hands. Our man in Durban, Soyiso Maliti, reports the…
12 Jan 25 min

Should SA get involved in the US-Venezuela crisis?

While the SACP marched on the US Embassy in Pretoria on Thursday to denounce the Trump administration’s abduction of another sitting head of state, the political parties that make up the current government of national unity (GNU) failed to see eye-to-eye on how best to react to the US-Venezuela crisis…
8 Jan 29 min

From SIU head to NPA boss, Andy Mothibi’s surprise leap raises eyebrows

A surprise appointment to be sure… Corruption buster Advocate Andy Mothibi has his work cut out for him as the new head of the National Prosecuting Authority from February 1. But does his bypassing of the interview process sour the start of his new position, and what about concerns over…
7 Jan 21 min
All episodes