EVIDENCE ARCHIVE: MEDIA24 FABRICATED ARTICLES, STRATEGIC DEFAMATION & THE CALL FOR PRESS COUNCIL ACTION
BEYOND WORDS: VISUAL PROOF THAT EXPOSES THE CONSORTIUM’S LIES
MEDIA24: Negligent Or Complicit?
Media24 did not simply misreport events—they actively fabricated allegations, presenting false claims as undisputed fact while strategically withholding key case outcomes.
The pattern was clear: whenever news could be framed negatively, it was heavily publicized. Yet, when rulings disproved these narratives, Media24 failed to report the truth—allowing public perception to remain skewed in favor of deception.
Arrests were widely covered, but not a single exoneration, dismissal, or overturned ruling was ever published. Fabricated charges were presented as legitimate, without verification or legal basis, cementing an intentionally misleading narrative.
When cases collapsed under scrutiny and the evidence disproved the accusations, the media remained silent.
This deliberate omission of the truth ensured sustained reputational damage, legal obstruction, and a false narrative that served the interests of those orchestrating the misconduct.
There were no corrections, no retractions, no transparency—only a carefully curated distortion of reality.
TABLES: MEDIA24 CRIMINAL DEFAMATION
THE IMPOSIBILITY OF COINCIDENCE
Direct Correlation: Arrests Charges, Media24, Civil Court Dates, Illegal & The Three Key Civil Court Dates
The absolute and undeniable precise alignment between the needs and strategy of the landlords and the key events and dates of the campaign.
The start and end of the series of articles aligning precisely wit the star and finish of the Wouter de Swardt's role in the campaign and likewise the start and finish of the property grabs.
01
NETWERK24
Julian Jensen
21 August 2022
"Brit stuck over cheating your rent, cheating there"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
MEDIA24'S DEFAMATORYCAMPAIGN
Media24’s Defamation Campaign: A Coordinated Effort to Control the Narrative
This table exposes an indisputable pattern—a deliberate and sustained defamation campaign by Media24 across multiple major South African media titles.
The repetition and cross-publication of defamatory articles reinforce that this was not isolated reporting but a strategically executed campaign designed to spread and maintain a false narrative. Each article was published across multiple outlets, ensuring that misinformation reached the widest possible audience.
Despite detailed, evidence-based rebuttals demonstrating the articles were false, Media24:
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Refused to retract, correct, or acknowledge their errors.
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Dismissed legitimate challenges with lies and deflection.
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Never removed the articles, leaving the damage as severe today as when first published—or worse, as time amplifies the harm.
The timing of publication further proves deliberate orchestration. Articles were released only when the consortium's campaign was in full force—aligning directly with strategic legal maneuvers designed to obstruct justice. When events turned in favor of the truth, Media24 ceased coverage entirely.
Through this selective, one-sided reporting, Media24 chose their beginning, manipulated the middle, and erased the end, ensuring that the only narrative that remained was the one that served their agenda.
02
NETWERK24
Ane Van Zyl
23 August 2022
"Briton who allegedly defrauded people with accommodation, gets bail"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
MEDIA24'S DEFAMATORY CAMPAIGN
Media24's Extremely Selective Reporting: Beginning, Middle & End—The Missing Chapters
A legitimate ongoing investigative story follows a structured progression—it has a beginning, a middle, and an end, each forming essential chapters.
Media24, however, dictated where the story began, ignored crucial developments in the middle, and refused to report the final chapters when the allegations collapsed under scrutiny.
• The carefully chosen ‘beginning’: Reporting only when arrests or legal action could be framed negatively, omitting critical early context that disproved the claims.
• The manipulated ‘middle’: Selectively publishing only developments that reinforced a false narrative while refusing to acknowledge contradicting evidence.
• The erased ‘end’: Every court ruling, dismissal, exoneration, and factual revelation proving the allegations false was completely ignored.
By controlling the structure of the narrative, Media24 did not report the truth—they actively constructed a version of events designed to inflict maximum damage while shielding those responsible for misconduct.
03
Rapport
Maygene De Wee
17 December 2022
"Brit arrested again after rental scam"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
MEDIA24'S SELECTIVE REPORTING
Media24’s Pattern of Selective Coverage. Every False Allegation Was Published — Every Vindication Was Buried
The table reveals the undeniable pattern of selective reporting—Media24 widely published arrests, detentions, and fabricated charges, yet not a single outcome was reported when courts threw out the cases.
Every charge listed was dismissed, withdrawn, or deemed unlawful, yet the media never followed up with the truth.
The deliberate omission ensured continued reputational harm, allowing false narratives to persist unchallenged.
Even when bail was granted and key charges collapsed, Media24 maintained complete silence—failing to correct their misleading coverage or acknowledge exonerations.
A system designed to deceive: False accusations were amplified while vindications were erased, ensuring justice remained hidden from public view.
📰 What the Image Shows:
- Consistent omissions of case outcomes—only accusations made headlines, while acquittals and withdrawn charges were ignored.
- Deliberate narrative control—fabricated claims amplified, factual corrections withheld.
- A timeline that exposes the pattern—events selectively covered to maintain a false perception.
🚨 Implications: - Public deception—truth distorted by media silence where exonerations should have been reported.
- Blocked legal accountability—the damage of defamation persists without corrections, retractions, apology or transparency.
04
News24
Carin Smith
14 January 2023
"Second arrest for Cape Town luxury accommodation scammer suspected of pocketing millions"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
THE PRECISE ALIGNMENT: MEDIA24'S FABRICATED ARTICLES & THE CONSORTIUMS CAMPAIGN
The unmistakable and precise alignment between the publication of the articles by Media24, and the campaign by the consortium.
As aligned as the specific timing of the articles was the start and finish of the series of articles. Starting when needed and ending when the goals had been achieved.
06
NETWERK24
Ane Van Zyl
2 February 2023
"Case adjourned against Brit who rent and re-lets houses"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
MEDIA24 CRIMINAL DEFMATION
Fabricated Charges, False Headlines & Media Blackouts on the Truth
Every Negative Headline Was Published—Every Exoneration Was Buried
Media24 did not simply misreport events—they actively fabricated allegations, presenting false claims as undisputed fact while strategically withholding key case outcomes.
The pattern was clear: whenever news could be framed negatively, it was heavily publicized. Yet, when rulings disproved these narratives, Media24 failed to report the truth—allowing public perception to remain skewed in favor of deception.
Arrests were widely covered, but not a single exoneration, dismissal, or overturned ruling was ever published. Fabricated charges were presented as legitimate, without verification or legal basis, cementing an intentionally misleading narrative. When cases collapsed under scrutiny and the evidence disproved the accusations, the media remained silent.
This deliberate omission of the truth ensured sustained reputational damage, legal obstruction, and a false narrative that served the interests of those orchestrating the misconduct. There were no corrections, no retractions, no transparency—only a carefully curated distortion of reality.
10000%. its been awful having no money and I am very conscious your financial position s extremely strained. Obvs Vince left you in very bad way financially when he had the income in those last few months to right all his wrongs and repay some of the small fortune you spent on him, plus the expected expenses with your car, and then having to carry the household, obvs when I get paid I will repay every cent you have out-laid. Obvs not just things like the vuse but all the food shopping, take aways, treats, dog food, household expenses etc. And I am very happy to work it all out using the bank statements as suggested as that way it’ll capture everything rather than rely on just receipts which may have since been lost and when I have money coming in of course I will be more than happy to pay for the majority of stuff and hopefully you’ll be able to start a job where they appreciate you and pay you what you’re worth,
01
NETWERK24
Julian Jensen
21 August 2022
"Brit stuck over cheating your rent, cheating there"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
THE IMPOSIBILITY OF COINCIDENCE
Direct Correlation: Arrests Charges, Media24, Civil Court Dates, Illegal & The Three Key Civil Court Dates
The absolute and undeniable precise alignment between the needs and strategy of the landlords and the key events and dates of the campaign
02
NETWERK24
Ane Van Zyl
23 August 2022
"Briton who allegedly defrauded people with accommodation, gets bail"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
MEDIA24'S SELECTIVE REPORTING
Media24’s Pattern of Selective Coverage. Every False Allegation Was Published — Every Vindication Was Buried
📰 What the Image Shows:
- Consistent omissions of case outcomes—only accusations made headlines, while acquittals and withdrawn charges were ignored.
- Deliberate narrative control—fabricated claims amplified, factual corrections withheld.
- A timeline that exposes the pattern—events selectively covered to maintain a false perception.
🚨 Implications:
- Public deception—truth distorted by media silence where exonerations should have been reported.
- Blocked legal accountability—the damage of defamation persists without corrections or transparency.
03
Rapport
Maygene de Wee
17 December 2022
"Brit arrested again after rental scam"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
THE PRECISE ALIGNMENT: MEDIA24'S FABRICATED ARTICLES & THE CONSORTIUMS CAMPAIGN
The unmistakable and precise alignment between the publication of the articles by Media24, and the campaign by the consortium.
As aligned as the specific timing of the articles was the start and finish of the series of articles. Starting when needed and ending when the goals had been achieved.
04
News24
Carin Smith
14 January 2023
"Second arrest for Cape Town luxury accommodation scammer suspected of pocketing millions"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
MEDIA24'S SELECTIVE REPORTING
Fabricated Charges & the Media’s Failure to Report the Truth
Every False Allegation Was Publicized—Every Dismissal Was Ignored
The table reveals the undeniable pattern of selective reporting—Media24 widely published arrests, detentions, and fabricated charges, yet not a single outcome was reported when courts threw out the cases.
Every charge listed was dismissed, withdrawn, or deemed unlawful, yet the media never followed up with the truth. The deliberate omission ensured continued reputational harm, allowing false narratives to persist unchallenged.
Even when bail was granted and key charges collapsed, Media24 maintained complete silence—failing to correct their misleading coverage or acknowledge exonerations.
A system designed to deceive: False accusations were amplified while vindications were erased, ensuring justice remained hidden from public view.
06
NETWERK24
Ane Van Zyl
2 February 2023
"Case adjourned against Brit who rent and re-lets houses"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF COINCIDENCE
Impossible Convergence of Criminal Charges, Civil Hearings, and Media24 Lies
This chart tracks the exact overlap between the key civil court filing periods, the arrests, detentions, major court hearings, and Media24's defamatory articles
Events that should bear no relation to each other, yet each aligns exactly with the Consortium's active campaign strategy.
Whether assessed over the life of the leases or the full span of relationships with the owners, these timeframes - measured in years - show arrests and detentions landing precisely within the narrow filing windows, often just days wide.
The synchronised bursts of legal and media action are not coincidental. They prove the campaign was coordinated, calculated and criminal.
05
IOL
Vernon Pillay
16 January 2023
"I almost got scammed by Darren Russell, the alleged Cape Town Airbnb Swindler"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
STATISTICAL IMPOSSIBILITY OF COINCIDENCE
Impossible Convergence of Criminal Charges, Civil Hearings, & Media24 Lies
Every major event in this campaign—from civil court case hearings, illegal arrests, trumped up charges, malicious prosecutions, unlawful detentions, Media24’s defamatory coverage, occurred entirely within two critical time points, marked on the chart by the two blue lines:
The start and end of Wouter de Swardt’s involvement in the coordinated effort to take back the properties which in itself coincided with the first and last successful such property grab.
The sequence of SAPS actions (arrests, detentions), court filings, and media attacks moved in exact alignment with the attempts to unlawfully seize properties.
The sequence of SAPS actions (arrests, detentions), court filings, and media attacks moved in exact alignment with the attempts to unlawfully seize properties.
When the final property was forcefully taken back, all activity - ‘legal,’ criminal, and media- immediately ceased. activities that should have had no relationships to the landlords own personal and private goals – supposed criminal investigations, supposed investigative reporting, supposed criminal trials or proceedings through the criminal justice system – all ceased.
Proving the campaign was not about justice, but a calculated strategy to unlawfully dispossess tenants under the guise of procedural legitimacy.
05
IOL
Vernon Pillay
16 January 2023
"I almost got scammed by Darren Russell, the alleged Cape Town Airbnb Swindler"
The truth matters—especially when the press abandons integrity and commits some of the most significant violations of the Press Code in a generation. These analysis uncover systemic fabrication, consistent falsehoods, unchecked bias, and deliberate omissions that created and shaped public perception, distorted reality and created the sole narrative.
These fact-based analyses that dismantle false narratives and reveal the press violations that demand accountability and action by the Press Council.
CONSORTIUM'S MOTIVE
Landlord Adverts Prove Massive Rental Increases After My Transformations
Irrefutable Evidence: Same Properties, Same Owners — Now Worth 300% TO 1,600% More
These are the landlords’ own property adverts — published after my arrest and eviction — showing rental prices hundreds of percent higher than when I first leased the same units.
The dramatic increases are a direct result of the transformations I carried out during my tenancy, investing my own time and money.
These increases were not due to market conditions or landlord improvements, but to my renovations alone. This strip forms irrefutable evidence of the financial value I added — and exposes the true motive behind the coordinated arrests and illegal evictions: to reclaim my upgraded properties and relet them at vastly increased rents.
MEDIA24 FABRICATED & FALSE ARTICLES
Transformations So Extreme, They Buried the Story
Hundreds of images—property listings, social media, guest bookings—proved the homes were dramatically renovated and elevated under my control.
The before-and-after contrast wasn’t subtle; it was seismic. These visuals alone obliterated the core of the allegations, yet Media24 ran with the script they were handed—never once questioning it.
300+ CRIMINAL OFFENCES
Criminal Offences Committed Against Darren Russell by SAPS Officers and Consortium Members (2022-2023)
This evidence table documents more than 300 distinct criminal actions. Each entry references a specific offence, including unlawful arrest, obstruction of justice, malicious prosecution, evidence tampering, media manipulation, and conspiracy to defeat the ends of justice.
This is not an exhaustive list — but the detail and scale are enough to establish the pattern of systemic, organised criminal conduct. All listed actions are either criminal under South African law or constitute direct abuse of process, and many have been repeated across multiple fabricated charges.
MEDIA24 FABRICATED & FALSE ARTICLES
Offences Ignored Across Three Rounds of Media24 Coverage
Before the first article hit print, the consortium and their SAPS allies had already committed serious criminal acts—including illegal arrests, fabricated dockets, property seizures, and evidence suppression. Instead of investigating, Media24 opened Round 1 (August 2022) by echoing their allegations verbatim.
As the misconduct escalated, so did the coverage. Round 2 (late 2022) arrived as fresh violations were underway—more detentions, more coordinated takedowns. Again, Media24 remained silent on the crimes and amplified the narrative.
By Round 3 (early 2023), the record of abuse was irrefutable—yet the reporting stayed loyal to the same sources, ignoring every legal outcome and documented offence.
Each article round was timed for impact. Each one ignored the context. Each one protected the perpetrators.
OUTCOMES AS EVIDENCE
Outcomes as Evidence: The Collapse of False Allegations Under Legal Scrutiny
This table presents indisputable proof that every charge, detention, and legal proceeding was built on fabricated claims—and every attempt to uphold these fabrications ultimately failed in court.
📌 Case Withdrawals & Dismissals:
Every accusation collapsed when examined under judicial scrutiny. Charges were withdrawn, cases were dismissed, and legal motions against misconduct were upheld—conclusively disproving the fraudulent claims used to justify arrests and asset seizures.
📌 Judicial Findings:
Courts recognized that procedural abuses and fabricated evidence formed the basis of multiple wrongful detentions. Legal outcomes repeatedly vindicated the accused, reinforcing the scale of corruption that led to these unlawful actions.
📌 Systemic Abuse Confirmed:
The documented failures of these cases serve as direct evidence of state-enabled misconduct. The justice system was manipulated to create legal threats, but at every stage where facts were weighed against accusations, the truth prevailed.
📌 No Accountability Despite Legal Failures:
Despite repeated legal vindications, those responsible for the false charges faced no consequences, ensuring the cycle of abuse continued unchecked. The justice system was used as a weapon—but its own rulings exposed the deception behind the fabricated legal claims.
MEDIA24 FABRICATED & FALSE ARTICLES
They Reported the Charges—Then Buried the Outcomes
Three Rounds of Coverage, Zero Corrections, Endless Distortion
Before the first article, key charges had already collapsed. Between the first and second, more were thrown out. Between the second and third, entire cases disintegrated in court. And since then, every remaining allegation has failed under scrutiny.
Yet Media24 never corrected a single false claim. They published arrests and charges as fact, ignored the proceedings that followed, and refused to report on the outcomes—even when those outcomes directly contradicted their own headlines.
This wasn’t journalism. It was narrative control by omission, repeated across three coordinated waves of coverage. The truth wasn’t hidden. It was deliberately excluded.
THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF COINCIDENCE
Impossible Convergence of Criminal Charges, Civil Hearings, and Media24 Lies
This chart tracks the exact overlap between the key civil court filing periods, the arrests, detentions, major court hearings, and Media24's defamatory articles
Events that should bear no relation to each other, yet each aligns exactly with the Consortium's active campaign strategy.
Whether assessed over the life of the leases or the full span of relationships with the owners, these timeframes - measured in years - show arrests and detentions landing precisely within the narrow filing windows, often just days wide.
The synchronised bursts of legal and media action are not coincidental. They prove the campaign was coordinated, calculated and criminal.
STATISTICAL IMPOSSIBILITY OF COINCIDENCE
Impossible Convergence of Criminal Charges, Civil Hearings, & Media24 Lies
Every major event in this campaign—from civil court case hearings, illegal arrests, trumped up charges, malicious prosecutions, unlawful detentions, Media24’s defamatory coverage, occurred entirely within two critical time points, marked on the chart by the two blue lines:
The start and end of Wouter de Swardt’s involvement in the coordinated effort to take back the properties which in itself coincided with the first and last successful such property grab.
The sequence of SAPS actions (arrests, detentions), court filings, and media attacks moved in exact alignment with the attempts to unlawfully seize properties.
The sequence of SAPS actions (arrests, detentions), court filings, and media attacks moved in exact alignment with the attempts to unlawfully seize properties.
When the final property was forcefully taken back, all activity - ‘legal,’ criminal, and media- immediately ceased. activities that should have had no relationships to the landlords own personal and private goals – supposed criminal investigations, supposed investigative reporting, supposed criminal trials or proceedings through the criminal justice system – all ceased.
Proving the campaign was not about justice, but a calculated strategy to unlawfully dispossess tenants under the guise of procedural legitimacy.
MEDIA24 FABRICATED & FALSE ARTICLES
A Timeline of Offences That Should Have Stopped the Story Cold
Before a single article was published, the landlords and their SAPS proxies had already committed dozens of criminal acts—from unlawful arrests and fabricated charges to obstruction of justice and coordinated evictions. These weren’t isolated incidents. They were systematic, repeated, and escalating.
Yet Media24 ignored all of it. They published three waves of articles—August 2022, December 2022, and early 2023—each time amplifying the accusers’ narrative while omitting the criminal conduct that preceded it. The result? A media campaign that didn’t just mislead—it shielded the perpetrators.
HIGH COURT JUDGMENT
High Court Ruling: Sokanyile v Broad
Spoliation Proceedings – Keith Broad and Wouter de Swardt Illegal Evictions & Assaults
This landmark High Court judgment reaffirmed tenant’s property rights and exposed the unlawful actions of Keith Broad and Wouter de Swardt.
Official Court Document
MEDIA24 FABRICATED & FALSE ARTICLES
Offences Ignored Across Three Rounds of Media24 Coverage
A High Court Ruling That Exposed the Criminal Eviction—Ignored by Every Media24 Article
On 4 August 2022—before a single article was published—the High Court issued a damning judgment: confirming the criminality of the illegal eviction, granting both an eviction order against Keith Brad, Wouter de Swardt and his unnamed thugs, and an interdict against Keith Broad and Wouter de Swardt, as well as awarding punitive costs that reflected the judge’s clear condemnation of their conduct.
The ruling was public. It was widely reported. It appeared on the first page of any search for the names involved. And yet, Media24 ignored it completely—publishing a version of events that ran directly contrary to the court’s findings.
They didn’t miss the truth. They chose to erase it—because propaganda from a discredited source served their narrative better than the ruling of a High Court judge.
HIGH COURT JUDGMENT
Court’s message in Llandudno case: Don’t take matters into your own hands
Spoliation Proceedings – Keith Broad and Wouter de Swardt Illegal Evictions & Assaults
- A Llandudno property owner used private security to evict his tenant and employees ahead of court eviction proceedings, apparently because he was frustrated with delays in the legal process.
- The tenant’s employees were forcefully removed by a group of “burly men” who then changed the locks.
- The High Court granted an interdict restraining the landlord from interfering with the tenants, pending the outcome of his eviction application.
Ground Up Article
"Justice without force is powerless; force without justice is tyrannical."
Blaise Pascal