Editorial cartooning International

Complaint Against Zapiro Cartoon Resolved

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Alan Gardner Published: February 13, 2026 1 minute 1 comment

Last April we reported that Solidarity and AfriForum had filed a complaint with the Press Council South Africa against the Daily Maverick after a Zapiro cartoon was published that suggested that AfriForum and Solidarity were claiming there as a genocide of white farmers in South Africa. The Deputy Ombudsman initially ruled against the paper, but the Daily Maverick appealed.

The Daily Maverick’s Press Ombudsman reports today that all the parties mutually settled the issue in October of last year. Their agreement is outlined below:

1. Daily Maverick confirms that AfriForum and Solidarity have not made any public claim that there is a present or pending “genocide” against white people in South Africa;
2. Pursuant to the above AfriForum and Solidarity accept that Zapiro’s cartoon was not literal but satirical. The cartoon constituted a satirical comment on the concerns AfriForum and Solidarity have raised regarding prejudicial policies affecting Afrikaners and other minorities in South Africa; and
3. Daily Maverick accordingly agreed to withdraw its appeal, and AfriForum and Solidarity agreed to abandon any reliance on the ruling in this matter, on the above basis.

Point #2 seems the most important for free speech advocates—that the editorial cartoon is satirical, not news coverage and should not be judged as such.