South African Correspondent
JOHANNESBURG – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s official social media account became the source of a major online scandal on Friday after it briefly published content containing nudity and sexually suggestive material, leading to widespread mockery and serious questions about the security of the Head of State’s digital presence.
The incident occurred while President Ramaphosa was reportedly engaged in a Joint National and North West Provincial Executive meeting, a serious government engagement starkly at odds with the content suddenly appearing on his X (formerly Twitter) feed, which boasts over 3 million followers.
According to numerous user reports and captured screenshots, the account shared a series of explicit videos and images of women in revealing clothing. The posts were live for a short period before being hastily deleted, but not before they were widely recorded and screenshotted, fueling their rapid circulation across various social media platforms.
The account was subsequently made temporarily inaccessible as the Presidency scrambled to manage the escalating crisis.
The public response was swift and unforgiving, with the hashtags related to the incident quickly trending. The Presidency was met with a wave of ridicule, criticism, and demands for a full explanation from citizens, opposition parties, and commentators alike.
In a statement issued late Friday, the Presidency moved to contain the fallout, firmly attributing the embarrassing mishap to a technical failure.
“The Presidency has noted with concern the posts that appeared on the Twitter account of President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier today,” the statement read.
“The account was compromised by a technical glitch that resulted in a cross-feed error during the live streaming of the executive meeting. The matter is being fully investigated to ensure the integrity of the account is secured and such an incident does not recur.”
The explanation of a “cross-feed error” has been met with skepticism by many online, with cybersecurity experts and social media users questioning how a live stream of a government meeting could cross-contaminate a feed with unconnected, explicit content. The incident has sparked a broader debate about the protocols and security measures safeguarding official government communications channels.
As investigations continue, the episode marks a significant and embarrassing breach for the South African leader’s online office.
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