Fact-Checking Donald Trump's 'White Genocide' Claims in South Africa

Trump's Claims About South African Farmers

• 🇺🇸 US President Donald Trump claimed during a meeting with South Africa's leader Siril Ramaposa that the South African government was carrying out a 'genocide against white farmers'.
• 🗣️ Trump presented what he described as evidence of these claims to President Ramaposa during their Oval Office meeting.

Fact-Checking the Evidence

• 🗺️ A BBC correspondent investigated a location shown in a video presented by Trump as proof of genocide.
• ❌ The correspondent found no graves or graveyard at the alleged site.
• 📹 The crosses seen in the video were part of a protest organized by a local community following the death of a couple.
• 👨‍🌾 The nephew of the couple killed, Roland Collier, described the ransacking of their home but stated he would not consider leaving South Africa.

Local Perspectives and Broader Context

• 🏡 Residents in a nearby village, home to farm workers, expressed shock at the false claims of white genocide.
• 💬 Beth Mabaso, a lifelong resident, described the area as peaceful and stated that no such murders had occurred in their community.
• 🌍 The claims have reminded many in South Africa, a country with a history of segregation, of the delicate nature of race matters.
• 🧐 BBC Verify analyzed President Trump's claims, including the use of a picture from the Democratic Republic of Congo to illustrate alleged burial sites in South Africa.