Trump’s misuse of Reuters Congo footage fuels false South African farmer narrative

During a heated White House meeting on May 21, 2025, US President Donald Trump misrepresented a Reuters image as evidence of mass killings of white South African farmers, when it actually depicted a burial in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The discussion with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, meant to focus on trade and security, was overshadowed by this claim.

Trump presented a screenshot from Reuters footage, claiming, “These are all white farmers that are being buried.” The image, verified by Reuters’ fact-check team, was filmed on February 3, 2025, by journalist Djaffar Al Katanty in Goma, showing body bags after an M23 rebel attack, not events in South Africa.

The screenshot came from a YouTube grab linked to a Reuters-credited video, featured in an American Thinker blog post that criticized Ramaphosa’s government as “dysfunctional” and “race-obsessed.” The post’s author, Andrea Widburg, admitted to Reuters that Trump “misidentified the image” but defended the narrative of pressures on white South Africans, despite lacking evidence of mass killings.

What is the background of the white farmers' story?

The claim ties into a contentious narrative about white farmers in South Africa, rooted in historical land disparities from apartheid, when white South Africans owned nearly 87 percent of farmland.

Post-1994, the government’s land reform policies—restitution, redistribution, and tenure reform—aim to address this imbalance, but progress has been slow, with only about 10 percent of commercial farmland redistributed by 2025.

Proposals for expropriation without compensation have sparked fears among some white farmers, amplified by groups like AfriForum, who claim they face targeted violence.

Farm attacks, a real issue in South Africa’s high-crime environment, affect both white and Black farmers, with 50–70 murders annually, per South African Police Service data.

However, studies, like those from the Institute for Security Studies, suggest these are primarily driven by criminal motives, not racial targeting. The “white farmer genocide” narrative, popular in some conservative circles, has been debunked, yet it persists, as seen in Trump’s remarks.

The White House meeting

The meeting aimed to bolster US-South Africa ties but was derailed by Trump’s focus on this misleading claim.

Ramaphosa likely countered by emphasizing South Africa’s efforts to address crime and land reform while rejecting exaggerated narratives. The White House did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, leaving the misstep unaddressed.

This incident risks straining diplomatic relations and underscores the dangers of misinformation in shaping international discourse.