Editorial Standards

The Record covers official South African accountability processes — commissions of inquiry, parliamentary committees, SIU investigations, and related legal proceedings. These are matters of public record established by the state under constitutional authority.

We are not a gossip platform. We do not cover private lives. We cover public officials in their public roles.

We distinguish clearly between:

Allegations — claims made by witnesses, media, or investigators that have not been proven. Always labelled as such.

Charges — formal criminal or disciplinary charges filed through official legal processes. Factual status, not a finding of guilt.

Findings — conclusions reached by a commission or court after due process. We report these accurately.

Convictions — proven in a court of law. The constitutional presumption of innocence applies until this point.

We publish information about individuals only in relation to their public roles and official proceedings.

We do not publish:

• Home addresses or private contact details
• Information about family members not involved in proceedings
• Medical information (unless directly relevant to fitness for office)
• Information about private conduct unrelated to public role

We do publish:

• Roles and positions held
• Testimony given at official proceedings
• Findings made about them by official bodies
• Charges and their legal basis

We correct factual errors promptly. Email: editorial@therecord.co.za. Corrections are noted on the relevant page.

Our work falls within the journalism and public interest exemption under Section 7 of POPIA. We process information about public figures in their public capacity to advance democratic accountability.