According to Rapport, the open letter, endorsed by 40 writers, academics, and commentators, was not the independent civic initiative it appeared to be, but a coordinated communication project directed from within the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). The Common Sense has been told by multiple sources that the letter was a project of the South African intelligence services.

The letter, circulated widely in local and international media, rejected Trump’s concerns that Afrikaner farmers suffered heightened levels of violent attack and that Afrikaners were discriminated against by South Africa’s race laws. The signatories argued that portraying Afrikaners as victims distorted history, deepened divisions, and misrepresented the reality on the ground.

Afrikaner activists have been prominent in Washington this year in drawing attention to violent crime in South Africa and the country’s very poor rates of investment and economic growth. The Common Sense has closely followed those visits and is confident in reporting that, whilst critical of the African National Congress (ANC) party, the Afrikaner delegations have lobbied hard for reduced tariff levels and for a broader trade and investment pact between the United States (US) and South Africa. Some Afrikaner leaders have even drafted outlines of what such an investment pact could entail.

Rapport reported that internal correspondence shows that agents inside DIRCO drafted and circulated the letter to shape international perceptions and reinforce Pretoria’s opposition to Trump’s policy.

The revelations follow reports that South African agents were behind a false-news campaign that accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) international relations spokesperson, Emma Powell, of lobbying against South Africa’s interests during a visit to Washington earlier this year. Powell had, in fact, lobbied hard for US investment into South Africa. That episode raised concerns about the use of state-linked disinformation networks to influence both domestic and foreign audiences.

The new allegations point to a pattern of government-managed information operations aimed at defending the government’s foreign-policy stances while discrediting opposition voices and civic critics. The Common Sense has previously reported that this was a widely practiced strategy during South Africa’s apartheid era.