The trend of political news consumption has dramatically changed in the last 10 years. Statistics from various sources indicate that of nearly 90% of connected citizens accessing news online, 58% rely on social media while the traditional legacy print and electronic media continue to dramatically decline.
This is unsurprising, considering that the traditional legacy media have been so blatantly deferential to the ANC since the dawn of our democracy. In fact, they have been more than that; they have been the ANC’s mouthpiece. This is not limited to only the SABC, but includes radio and television stations who all claim to be “independent”. Viewers and listeners are not ignorant and they see the patent bias of these news outlets, making them untrustworthy and devoid of news objectivity.
It is therefore equally unsurprising that the country’s social media ecosystem continues to thrive, with approximately 26.7 million active social media individuals recorded in January 2025. This represents 41.5% of the total population, reflecting a year-on-year increase of around 700 000 users (an additional 2.7%). For people 18 and above, social media penetration now stands at about 59.9%, cementing its role as a pivotal pillar of the digital space. More than half, or 52,6%, of internet users in South Africa engage with at least one social media platform.
As a result, the number of local podcasts has exploded in recent years. This is welcomed as these local podcasters are effectively filling the space left by the one-sided legacy media.
However, we are starting to see another dangerous trend within podcasting. Except for a few excellent fact-based podcasts, podcasters are proving to be not only more than uninformed but also literally cringe-worthy. The opinion of podcasters is based on nothing more than thumb sucking, with no facts or figures behind them. The same is true of guests invited on to these podcasts, most of whom usually provide rubbish information, whose opinions are left unchallenged. In some cases the podcasters will agree with a guest even when the guest provides an opinion that contradicts the views of a guest the previous day, which the podcaster agreed with, too.
Just the other day, I cringed at the uninformed questions posed by a podcaster, which only exposed his ignorance and unpreparedness. Another example was the podcaster who vehemently stated that he would not support the DA (he even has a special subscriber-only podcast on this subject), explaining that he was not sure who he would be voting for, while in the same breath extolling the Western Cape and Cape Town’s excellent government.
I wonder if that same Joburg-based podcaster will be supporting the pathetic and useless Joburg mayor Dada Morero and his team, who are turning Joburg into a third world city. If the new media aren’t careful they may well experience the decline that the legacy media are currently confronting.
Manny de Freitas
Johannesburg