This comes after a complaint was laid against the newspaper by a member of the public, Hans-Christian Mahnke, in October last year regarding an advert that read like an article.
The content was paid for by ReconAfrica, a Canadian oil and gas company engaged in the exploration and development of oil and gas in Namibia and Botswana, and the newspaper’s editor, Toivo Ndjebela, admits to the mistake of the omission of the logo.
According to Mahnke, the content, published on 26 October 2021 and titled ‘This is what we want’ appears to be an advert although it did not feature a logo or sponsorship tag. The article, Mahnke alleges, was designed to look and read like journalistic content but was, in fact, a paid advertisement.
He added that the article was not based on independent research by a journalist, nor did it conform to basic journalistic standards, as it lacked objectivity and diverse opinions.
Ndjebela refuted the allegations and insinuations that the media house was somehow bribed to deliberately mislead their readers.
“It was a genuine human error,” Ndjebela said during a public hearing under the chairmanship of retired major general James Tjivikua. The media ombudsman, John Nakuta, recused himself, and was represented by Tjivikua.
He acknowledged having picked up the error with the help of the complainant, who reached out to him on the evening of 26 October 2021, the same day the article was published.
“The content is paid advertising, yet no logo or sponsorship appeared on the page,” Mahnke said yesterday during the public hearing by a media complaints committee that took place under the auspices of the office of the media ombudsman.
According to the media ombudsman, the newspaper violated the Media Code of Ethics and Conduct, which states: “The media shall indicate clearly when an outside organisation has contributed to the cost of news gathering”.
“Thus, the defendant should issue a public apology to the readership in the same newspaper about the said article, within seven days,” said Tjivikua. The newspaper has been given seven days to appeal.
