(Credit: BizCommunity.com, screenshot, highlight added)
South African news website BizCommunity.com retracted an Oct. 31 article about South African newspaper the Daily Sun and its editor-in-chief at the time, Themba “TK” Khumalo.
According to the Nov. 3 retraction and apology, signed by managing director Robin Parker, “The article was subsequently proven to have contained factual errors which were derogatory and defamatory of the newspaper and its outgoing editor-in-chief.” (BizCommunity.com wrote Oct. 28 about Khumalo’s resignation as the Daily Sun’s editor-in-chief here.)
The retraction and apology suggested that BizCommunity.com didn’t contact the Daily Sun prior to publication and errors were made during the “foundation phase” of the article. BizCommunity.com noted that it is conducting an internal investigation. This is the article, titled “South Africa: Is there life for Daily Sun after Du Plessis, TK?”
BizCommunity.com noted it also has “temporarily suspended” the writer of the Oct. 31 article, Issa Sikiti da Silva. BizCommunity.com reported Nov. 3 that da Silva resigned from the newspaper during the investigation.
BizCommunity.com indicated there was a dispute between what it says happened and what da Silva says happened, adding “Our investigations show that the true facts were misrepresented and we disagree with Mr Da Silva’s social media contentions that he did not misrepresent the facts. ”
“I RESIGN FROM BIZCOMMUNITY WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT – AFTER I’VE BEEN SUSPENDED & WRONGLY ACCUSED OF WRITING A STORY WITH FACTUAL ERRORS…NO LONGER PART OF BIZCOMMUNITY. FREE LIKE A BIRD… LIFE GOES ON…”
The same day he also tweeted indicating that he resigned because the Daily Sun’s lawyers threatened legal action in response to the article. He tweeted:
“AFTER CONTRIBUTING FOR MORE THAN 6 YEARS FOR http://BIZCOMMUNITY.COM, I FINALLY CALL IT QUIT – AFTER BEING UNFAIRLY SUSPENDED. GD LUCK, GD BYE”
“Why I quit: Daily Sun story, 31 Oct, abt TK (editor) resigning. DS lawyers complained, threatened to sue Bizcom, got suspended – now I quit”
StinkyJournalism has written to the Daily Sun and BizCommunity.com for more information and will update with any response.
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