South Africans have been merciless as they pour out their frustrations over a caption that went along with a photo post made by a White House reporter from the Associated Press (AP).
Darlene Superville had posted a photo from the G7 Summit happening at Biarritz, France, and which ends today, with a caption that named the personalities in the photo but mentioned the only Black person as “one unidentified leader.”
World leader bear hug before the group photo @ #G7Summit in Biarritz, France. @EmmanuelMacron @narendramodi @JustinTrudeau and one unidentified leader. pic.twitter.com/Ij9PsYrV2j
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) August 25, 2019RELATED STORIES
Being obvious that this “one unidentified leader” was South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, many South Africans have poured onto social media in obvious anger over how it is that a reporter of such a pedigree did not know their president.
Others have also wondered how it is that with only 10 African leaders attending the Summit, Superville did not do her homework on them well before carrying any posts or reports on them.
The Black-American reporter, tweeted on Sunday: “World leader bear hug before the group photo @ #G7Summit in Biarritz, France. @EmmanuelMacron @narendramodi @JustinTrudeau and one unidentified leader.”
She tagged Emmanuel Macron, the president of France; Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada; and Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India; but somehow could not identify Ramaphosa.
What seems even more intriguing is that even as of the time of publishing this story, Superville’s Twitter Account still has the tweet without any changes done on it still up her page.
Here are some reactions:
Now if a white person wrote ‘and one unidentified leader’, you’d likely shriek in protest. It’s deeply offensive to all South Africans that you don’t know who our president is. Given your job function, inexcusable. You owe an apology for your sloppiness.
— Clive Simpkins ?️ ✡️ ✝️ ☪️ ☸️ (@clivesimpkins) August 26, 2019
That’s @CyrilRamaphosa
— ???????????????????????? (@Greg7Reob) August 26, 2019
??He sold nuclear technology to Iran
??All SO responsible for #FarmMurders
??his goverment is All SO discriminating aganst minority
equivalent to the apartheid gov
??25 years of serving #SouthAfrica has made him one of the richesthttps://t.co/MMM3IXAvAH
This is very embarrassing. A 30 second Google search would have revealed that he is Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa.
— Alastair McAlpine (@AlastairMcA30) August 26, 2019
You still haven’t deleted this nonsense?
— Akani M (@Akanirelo) August 26, 2019
The disrespect ! Unidentified? Are u a journalist or one of these twitter reporters just google African leaders and Cyril “Buffalo give her the Cupcake” Ramaphosa current president of the Republic of South Africa will appear. Go back to doing social events or being an influencer pic.twitter.com/hw9Y4mPhZo
— IG Sirboring?????? (@sirboring_26) August 26, 2019
Congratulations for reporting and not knowing who @CyrilRamaphosa is. Arwe you a journalist ????
— Kat ??? (@KatCapeTown) August 26, 2019
What kind of journalism is this that lacks the professional curiosity to find out who a world leader is? Some have called it many names, I call it INCOMPETENCE laced with professional laziness! For the benefit of your followers, it is @CyrilRamaphosa the president of South Africa
— Hopewell Chin’ono (@daddyhope) August 26, 2019
Of course your inferiority complex has made sure that you’re able to identify all the white masters…then opted to call the only black guy “unidentified leader”
— Mchumane…uNozulu (@MissSteelo) August 26, 2019
The disrespect nxa
Dear Darlene
— Madzenga (@NMadzenga) August 26, 2019
The one Unidentified leader is the President of the Republic of South Africa ?? a country located in your ancestral roots continent called Africa
This is where all of you Africans Americans comes from
Lastly I would like to invite to come @ProudlySA @GovernmentZA pic.twitter.com/qMIi999NMi
And that one unidentified leader happens to be BLACK. You clearly had no interest in identifying him. Trashy behavior
— Black & Blessed ❤❤✌ (@Mama_Bridgie) August 26, 2019
@AP doesn’t journalism involve some degree of research? A functioning brain at the very least? A senior political reporter (I would assume) who doesn’t know the president of a country in G20/BRICS? Unidentified leader. Mother fucker were u in a rush when u posted this? pic.twitter.com/P62xIm1XC8
— S’pakpaku (@U_Siphoz) August 26, 2019
Other people have not been as polite:
@MissSteelo: we demand an apology for this disrespect
@HLABAZ: Lol African Americans are so ignorant, and it is really embarrassing. These people don’t care to learn anything about Africa and its people.
@miss_vimbayi: Oh because the “unidentified leader” is from Africa you automatically don’t know how to do proper research on who he is. A whole journalist
@LeeRaa_B: You are being unreasonably lazy with your research
@AngeloCoppolaSA: Wow! Really? You can identify someone who’s back is completely against the camera by not the man facing the camera? Inexcusable.
@PearlPillay: Wow the @AP really got the cream of the crop here.
@Sisonkemsimang: She’s gonna have some questions to answer at the family reunion this year.
