Politics JUSTICE MALALA: The truth behind the 'white monopoly capital' propaganda assault 'Truth does not matter to them. Their motto is simple: Paint anyone who has taken on the Guptas in the worst possible light' BL PREMIUM

The days of fact-based debate in South Africa are over. A dirty propaganda war — where truth doesn't matter, where reputations are routinely torn to shreds through innuendo — has been joined. This dirty war is most obvious in social media where it is led by a group of faux Black Consciousness activists built around Mzwanele Jimmy Manyi and others. They use Twitter and other social media to champion the cause of the Gupta family, to deflect from whatever this family may be accused of and to paint anyone who has ever raised a voice against their capture of President Jacob Zuma as being a pawn of a bogus grouping called White Monopoly Capital. This group thrives on conspiracy theories, on throwing mud without any evidence. Truth does not matter to them. Their motto is simple: Paint anyone who has taken on the Guptas in the worst possible light. Someone has created hundreds of fake Twitter accounts, all of them deployed to cast aspersions on those who have taken them on. At the weekend ...