South African news creators are drawing audience attention on par with traditional outlets. Venelize de Lange from media update looks at how independent creators are rivalling legacy media for reach and whether the industry's fears around algorithms and misinformation hold up locally.
Switching on the television and hopping on SABC 2 for the evening news bulletin is no longer the norm it used to be for many of us. Today, South Africans look to news organisations to do more than just tell them what’s happening in the world.
Reuters Institute research from 2025 found that 39% of South African respondents regularly paid attention to creators and influencers on social and video networks, against 38% who paid attention to news brands and journalists. The two groups are now drawing comparable attention, even though local creators still have smaller followings than their counterparts in many other countries.
Additionally, the Center for News, Technology and Innovation and Code for Africa found that roughly one in four South Africans receive their news from individuals rather than organisations. The researchers surveyed 43 independent providers and interviewed 18 in depth. Many started as freelancers, using social platforms to stay visible to editors before building standalone audiences of their own.
Format explains part of this appeal. Without an outlet’s editorial rulebook to follow, news creators are afforded more creative freedom, mixing reporting with commentary, humour and personality, and distributing it through blogs, newsletters, podcasts and video.
The flexibility is quite significant in the South African context. Many interviewees framed their work as "decolonising" local media, pushing back against foreign coverage that skips over local detail and leans negative. Several described a "solutions mindset" as central to their identity.
Still, these independent creators are widely considered contributors to a fragmented information environment and, globally, to the spread of misinformation.
Part of this comes down to algorithm biases. Algorithms are built to keep you watching by learning what you engage with, and feeding you more of the same. So, the news you see becomes shaped by your own past clicks instead of the edited and verified version of events traditional media publishes.
However, South African interviewees pushed back on that framing. They described building credibility through audience feedback alongside sourcing and fact-checking with many keeping close ties to legacy newsrooms through broadcast appearances and co-hosted events.
The current research suggests that neither camp is about to absorb the other. What is becoming apparent, is a working relationship between institutions with resources and individuals with trust. How that relationship is managed, especially with regards to editorial standards, is going to shape where people turn to for news next.
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Want to learn more about the media's relationship with tech? Read Why Your Brain Still Craves Print.
*Image courtesy of Canva
**Information sourced Reuters Institute, Mail and Guardian and Daily Maverick