The South African media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give The South African one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. We have seen it on 18 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is The South African biased?
The rating organisations do not give The South African one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is The South African left or right?
The rating organisations do not give The South African one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans left. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Left.
Is The South African reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for The South African are Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What The South African has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with The South African’s own report linked underneath.
A helicopter carrying six people crashed in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, with officials confirming no survivors. Among the deceased were businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife, according to state media reports.
The South African reported it asBREAKING: Prominent businessman among six killed in Zimbabwe helicopter crash (opens The South African in a new tab)
South Africa summoned US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III for the third time in nine months, citing 'undiplomatic conduct' in media interviews. The summons follows escalating tensions over demands made by the US administration regarding land, crime, and racial policies.
The South African reported it asSA summons US ambassador amid escalating Trump tensions (opens The South African in a new tab)
The death toll from a weekend tavern shooting near Johannesburg has risen to 18. Four victims have been identified as two South Africans and two nationals of Lesotho. Authorities are also investigating a separate shooting near Cape Town.
The South African reported it asUPDATE | Wedela tavern shooting death toll rises to 18 (opens The South African in a new tab)
A new report from the Climate Impact Lab estimates that the current El Niño event could lead to 451,000 additional heat-related deaths worldwide between September 2026 and February 2027. India is projected to experience 15,800 of these deaths.
The South African reported it asEl Niño rundown: from first warnings to a 451,000-death projection (opens The South African in a new tab)
At least 11 people were killed and three injured in a shooting at a house in KwaMakhutha, Durban. Gunmen reportedly entered the residence and opened fire on those gathered inside. A pregnant woman was among the deceased. The motive for the attack is unknown.
The South African reported it asMass shooting in Durban leaves a community in shock (opens The South African in a new tab)
Six-year-old Lian Yunzhi has set a new women's world record for solving the 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube. She achieved an average time of 4.27 seconds, breaking her own record twice within three days at competitions certified by the World Cube Association in China.
The South African reported it asSix-year-old Chinese girl sets Rubik's Cube world record (opens The South African in a new tab)
Record-high diesel prices have prompted Republican Senator Chuck Grassley to call for an embargo on exports. Farm state Republicans are pressuring the White House to stop exports, citing the impact on farmers and truckers.
The South African reported it asEXPLAINER | Why diesel prices are rising more than crude oil (opens The South African in a new tab)
India's Ministry of External Affairs has dismissed reports circulating on social media alleging that world leaders fell ill after attending the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. The ministry's fact-checking unit labelled the claims 'fake' and 'malicious'.
The South African reported it asCyril Ramaphosa was NOT poisoned at BRICS Summit in India (opens The South African in a new tab)
The United States has imposed new visa restrictions on certain South African nationals, citing race-based discrimination and uncompensated land seizures. South Africa has rejected the US allegations, stating the measures are based on mischaracterised policies and fringe group information.
The South African reported it asUS announces visa restrictions targeting THESE South Africans (opens The South African in a new tab)
A multi-vehicle crash on South Africa's N1 highway in the Western Cape Province has resulted in at least 21 fatalities. Three individuals sustained serious injuries and were transported to hospital.
The South African reported it asHORROR N1 CRASH: 21 killed, three seriously injured in Western Cape (opens The South African in a new tab)
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with an exhibit of artifacts. The display includes personal items from the day, presented openly due to fragility, as museum leadership navigates political criticism.
The South African reported it asNew York marks 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks (opens The South African in a new tab)
August 2026 was the hottest month on record globally, tying with July 2023, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The record heat was attributed to human-caused climate change and a strong El Niño event, with sea surface temperatures also reaching new highs.
The South African reported it asAugust was the hottest month ever recorded globally: Here's HOW hot (opens The South African in a new tab)
Apple has launched its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, at its 'Surprise and Shine' event. The company also introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. This marks the first major product launch under new CEO John Ternus.
The South African reported it asApple's first foldable iPhone coming to SA - but it won't be cheap! (opens The South African in a new tab)
Apple CEO John Ternus posted a cryptic video ahead of the company's expected iPhone 18 Pro unveiling. The video appears to hint at a new variable aperture camera feature for the device, which is set to be announced alongside new Apple Watch models.
The South African reported it asApple's first foldable iPhone coming to SA - but it won't be cheap! (opens The South African in a new tab)
Eight South Koreans working on a hydropower plant project are missing and 10 others are stranded after a flash flood in Nepal. South Korea's Foreign Ministry has established a task force and plans to send a response team to the affected Rasuwa district.
The South African reported it asFour South Africans among tourists missing after deadly Nepal-Tibet floods (opens The South African in a new tab)
A 24-year-old Nepali labourer survived a flash flood by clinging to a mango tree after being swept away by a torrent of mud and rock. The disaster has killed at least 150 people and left hundreds missing in Nepal.
The South African reported it asFour South Africans among tourists missing after deadly Nepal-Tibet floods (opens The South African in a new tab)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to the United Kingdom after six years in the US, but will not resume their roles as working royals. Their children will attend British schools from September, and King Charles III was informed of the decision on 16 August 2026.
The South African reported it asPrince Harry and Meghan in shock move back to UK (opens The South African in a new tab)
Actress Hayden Panettiere, 36, was found dead in her Greenville, South Carolina apartment on 16 August 2026. Police and the coroner’s office reported no signs of foul play. Her father confirmed her death in a statement to ABC News, and tributes followed from co-stars and fans.
The South African reported it as‘Save the Cheerleader, Save the World’: Remembering Heroes icon Hayden Panettiere (opens The South African in a new tab)
Who says so
2 organisations have published a rating for this outlet, in their own words. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the useful part and it is left standing.
How reliably it reports fact
A rating of the newsroom in general, by others, and a different thing from the Trust score we publish on each story, which judges one piece of reporting.
High factuality
- Media Bias/Fact CheckhighCheck it
Who owns it
- Blue Sky Publications Ltd (UK)Corporationdirect owner
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Cape Town, City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
- Official site
- thesouthafrican.com
- Seen publishing on
- thesouthafrican.com
- Access
- Free to read
- Wikipedia
- Entry
What we have seen ourselves
Counted across the stories this site has published, which is the only denominator a reader can check: every one of them has a page, and every page lists the reports it was written from.
- Stories
- 18
- Reports listed
- 18
- We could read
- 1
- First seen
- 18 August 2026
17 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 1 we could open, not on everything it published.
On 6 of those stories, outlets rated left were largely absent from the coverage and The South African ran the story anyway.
Across the 18 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, another outlet was always ahead of The South African: its report arrived a median of 26 hours after the earliest one we logged.
Measured 3 October 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 2 October 2026. Ratings pulled 17 September 2026.
Think this page is wrong?
The leanings above are published by AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check, and we republish them rather than make them. If you think one is misapplied, the strongest place to say so is with the organisation that made it, and every verdict here links to their page.
What we are responsible for is everything else: the ownership chain, where The South African publishes from, which of our stories we have listed it on, and whether we have the right publisher at all. Tell us what is wrong and an editor reads it.
Report something wrong on this page
Anything we correct is written up in the public corrections log. We do not publish reader votes as a rating, because an unattributed rating is the thing this site exists to argue against.
Every rating on this page is a named third party’s published work, republished with its author and, where one exists, a link to it. Our own coverage record is the section we measure ourselves. Neither is a judgement of any individual report: those are scored story by story, and the reasoning is on our methodology page.