Trump Confronts South African President with False White Genocide Visuals

On May 21, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump reignited controversy during a tense meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The meeting, also attended by South Africa-born billionaire and Trump supporter Elon Musk, saw Ramaphosa become the latest world leader confronted with a series of false or misleading claims made by Trump.

Ramaphosa sought to improve U.S.–South Africa relations, which had become strained following U.S. aid reductions, the expulsion of the South African ambassador, and disagreements over South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. 

While Ramaphosa focused on trade—amid a 30% U.S. tariff and South Africa’s reliance on America as its second-largest trade partner—Trump instead emphasized alleged killings and land seizures of white farmers, a claim he has pushed since 2018.

These events followed Trump’s February 7 executive order granting Afrikaners eligibility for U.S. refugee status, citing alleged genocide and mass killings. On May 12, 59 Afrikaners arrived in Washington on a U.S.-chartered flight. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau described them as “carefully vetted” and “easily assimilated”, without addressing why other vulnerable groups were excluded or deemed less assimilable.

DRC Cemeteries from M23 Attack Falsely Shown as South African White Farmers’ Graves

During the meeting, Trump held up printed articles, claiming they proved white farmers were being systematically targeted. “Death, death, death… horrible death”, he said, referring to what he described as targeted killings. 

At 28:37 in the White House livestream, he showed a February 13, 2025, article from American Thinker titled “Let’s Talk About Africa: This Is Where Tribalism Takes You”, featuring an image allegedly depicting the burial of white farmers. “These are all white farmers being buried”, Trump asserted.

However, Misbar found the image unrelated to attacks on white farmers in South Africa. It was actually a still from a February 7, 2025, WION report on mass violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The footage originally appeared in a February 4 Reuters report, captioned: “Over 2,000 bodies require burial in Goma after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took over the city.”

Later, the White House published the list of articles Trump referenced during the confrontation but notably excluded the American Thinker blog, despite Trump’s reliance on it.

Video of ‘White Crosses’ on Road Does Not Show Graves of White Farmers Killed in South Africa

Additionally, Trump dimmed the lights and played videos—including one showing rows of white crosses—claiming they marked the graves of white farmers killed in racially motivated attacks. “These are burial sites… about a thousand crosses”, he said, adding, “They’re all white farmers.”

Since issuing his executive order on February 7, figures like Elon Musk have continued to reinforce this narrative. On March 8, Musk shared the same video posted by the White House on X, amplifying claims that each cross in the footage actually represents the grave of a white farmer killed in South Africa.

Misbar investigated the footage, which was first uploaded online on September 7, 2020, with a caption describing it as a tribute march against farm attacks. Further investigation showed that it was filmed on September 5, capturing a memorial march near Newcastle, South Africa, honoring Glen and Vida Rafferty, a couple killed on their Normandien farm the previous weekend.

On the same day, SABC News, South Africa’s public broadcaster, aired live footage of the protest, noting that organizers had planted 2,000 temporary crosses along the route of the “Move One Million” march—from Newcastle to the Rafferty farm—a few days before the memorial.

In a BBC interview on May 22, 2025, event organizer Rob Hoatson confirmed that the display was symbolic, not a burial site. He explained that over 2,500 crosses had been placed along the road in KwaZulu-Natal and were later removed.

What are the Number saying about possible genocide in Africa?

Genocide under U.N. law requires intent to destroy a group, which is not evident in South Africa, where the agriculture minister is White.

According to Reuters, South Africa faces one of the highest murder rate—72 daily in a population of 60 million, mostly Black victims. In 2024, police recorded 26,232 murders, with 44 linked to farming communities.

Data from white farmers also counters claims of genocide. The TLU-SA recorded 1,363 white farmers killed since 1990—about 40 annually, less than 1% of total murders. 

Moreover, the AfriForum organization, using police, private security, and media sources, confirmed around 50 farm murders annually in 2022 and 2023. However, these killings are not linked to genocide, and according to the report, not all victims were white farmers.

Read More

China Did Not Conduct Humanitarian Airdrops in Gaza Despite Israeli Blockade

This Video Does Not Show Pope Leo XIV Refusing To Kiss an African Cardinal