The Sunday World says it is subjecting its reporters to a polygraph test, popularly referred to as a lie detector test.
This follows Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe‘s recent statement in which he alleged that he had paid a R70 000 bribe to two reporters of the newspaper to quash a report that he had an extramarital affair with a student.
Mantashe has since retracted the claim, saying he did not actually pay the money. However, the newspaper is demanding an apology from him saying it has suffered reputational damage.
Sunday World editor Makhudu Sefara explains: Inspite of the inconveniences that we’ll introduce to the production process, we will start it on Friday [the polygraph testing]. There was a meeting between Sanef and the Minister… in that meeting I did make it clear to the Minister that in as much as people might believe that we sell newspapers, the thing that we actually really sell is the integrity of the news process, its the credibility of the newspaper, it is reputation that the newspaper is built on.”
Watch Media Monitor interview with Makhudu Sefara:
