Photo: Trump misused Congo footage as evidence of South Africa white killings: Reuters

CAIRO – 23 May 2025: During a contentious meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last week, US President Donald Trump displayed a screenshot from a Reuters video taken in the DR Congo, falsely claiming it showed mass killings of white farmers in South Africa.

The footage, published by Reuters on February 3, depicted humanitarian workers handling body bags in Goma following clashes with M23 rebel forces, not evidence of violence against farmers in South Africa.

Trump's claims were based on a blog post from American Thinker, which addressed conflict and racial tensions in both South Africa and DR Congo.

 

Reuters journalist Djaffar Al Katanty, who filmed the original footage, expressed concern that Trump used his work to promote a misleading narrative about racial violence in South Africa.

Trump’s meeting with Ramaphosa followed ongoing tensions between the US president and South Africa regarding land laws and treatment of the white minority, which the South African government denies.