Tensions flared during a high-profile meeting at the White House on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, when former U.S. President Donald Trump presented inaccurate visual material as evidence to support a discredited conspiracy theory. The incident occurred during talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, where Trump erroneously claimed that an image from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) showed white South African farmers being buried following mass killings.
Trump displayed a printed screenshot taken from a Reuters video filmed in Goma, eastern Congo—footage that documented humanitarian workers managing body bags after violent clashes involving Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Despite the context, Trump mischaracterised the scene, stating: “These are all white farmers that are being buried,” as he showed the image to President Ramaphosa.
The original footage was captured by Reuters journalist Djaffar Al Katanty and released on February 3. Al Katanty later responded to the incident, saying: “In view of all the world, President Trump used my image, used what I filmed in DRC to try to convince President Ramaphosa that in his country, white people are being killed by Black people.” He added, “That day, it was extremely difficult for journalists to get in … I had to negotiate directly with M23 and coordinate with the ICRC to be allowed to film. Only Reuters has video.”
The misleading image Trump held originated from a blog post on the conservative website American Thinker. The image, which lacked proper labeling, was sourced from YouTube and linked to Reuters’ footage. Andrea Widburg, managing editor of American Thinker, acknowledged the misidentification but defended the article’s larger argument regarding alleged societal pressures on white South Africans. She also sharply criticised Ramaphosa’s administration.
The meeting’s televised portion further underscored the controversy, as Trump dramatically read from printed blog posts and articles, using language such as “death, death, death, horrible death” to support the debunked notion that white South African farmers are victims of a targeted campaign of violence.
This narrative, often circulated among far-right groups, promotes the false claim that white South Africans are facing genocide—a claim that has been thoroughly dismissed by international human rights bodies and firmly denied by the South African government.
President Ramaphosa’s visit to Washington was initially aimed at mending bilateral relations, which had been strained by Trump’s frequent criticisms of South Africa’s land reform policies and racial dynamics. South African officials have consistently rejected any accusation of policies that disproportionately or unfairly target the country’s white minority.
Despite mounting questions, the White House has yet to issue a statement or respond to media inquiries regarding the incident.
Reuters has reaffirmed the origin and content of the footage, making it clear that the video bears no connection to South Africa or its white farming community.
