'Misrepresentation': NYT refutes Trump's S.Africa white genocide video
3 Min Read
The NYT exposes Trump for playing a 2020 video for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, falsely claiming it showed mass graves of white farmers.
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President Donald Trump meets South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
During a White House meeting on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump presented South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with a video he claimed showed "burial sites" of more than 1,000 white farmers.
The footage depicted a rural road in South Africa lined with white crosses and vehicles, which Trump used as evidence of what he described as a genocide targeting white South Africans.
A New York Times analysis found that the video in question was not documentation of mass graves, but rather a memorial procession held on September 5, 2020, near Newcastle, South Africa. According to a local news outlet, the event honored a white farming couple allegedly murdered in late August of that year. The white crosses had been temporarily placed along the road and were later removed.
Despite this, Trump dimmed the lights during the meeting to play the video, stating, "These are burial sites right here. Burial sites. Over a thousand of white farmers."
President @realDonaldTrump brought a TV into the Oval Office to show the President of South Africa a video of his own government calling for the killing of white farmers pic.twitter.com/1N978sGNm5
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) May 21, 2025
When President Ramaphosa asked where the footage came from, Trump responded vaguely, saying, "I mean, it’s in South Africa." A White House official later told The Times that each cross represented a slain white farmer but did not explain why the video was described as showing actual gravesites.
No evidence of genocide against white farmers
While white crosses are commonly used in South Africa to protest farm killings, they are symbolic and not indicators of physical graves. Photos and videos from the 2020 event show flags condemning farm murders and a banner reading, "President Ramaphosa, how many more must die???" displayed between vehicles.
Although South Africa has a high murder rate, police data does not support the claim that white farmers are being systematically targeted more than other groups. There is no verified evidence of genocide against white South Africans.
Ramaphosa remained calm in the face of the allegations and countered them directly, pointing to the presence of white South Africans, including billionaire Johann Rupert, in his delegation, as evidence that fears of an anti-white campaign were baseless.
“If this were happening,” Ramaphosa said, referencing the alleged killings and expropriations, “they would not be here.”
Musk’s social media posts amplify video
It remains unclear who provided Trump with the video or how it was presented to him. However, billionaire Elon Musk, originally from South Africa, had shared the video multiple times on the social media platform X prior to the meeting.
The meeting highlighted growing concerns over misinformation being presented in diplomatic settings. While Trump framed the footage as proof of widespread racial violence, factual reviews suggest the event was a localized protest and remembrance.
