CNN Senior Correspondent Donie O'Sullivan returns with a new chapter in his Emmy®-nominated series of investigations into the pervasive surge of misinformation and its impact on American politics.
O'Sullivan investigates why the narrative of an alleged "White genocide" in South Africa has gained traction among some Americans who fear changing demographics that are projected to soon make White people a minority in the U.S. The claim has even reached the White House, where President Trump cited it as justification for granting refugee status to White South Africans. Traveling to South Africa himself, O'Sullivan seeks out local voices to explore the country's deep-seated racial tensions and reveal the more complex reality behind the sensationalized rhetoric.
"The mainstreaming of White nationalist talking points in American discourse in recent years has centered on the conspiracy theory that White people in the U.S. are being deliberately 'replaced,'" said O'Sullivan. "Claims about purported White persecution in South Africa have played a major role in stoking these fears and have been used as an attempted justification for major changes in the U.S. refugee program. We wanted to separate fact from fiction in what Americans are being told about post-apartheid South Africa and to understand what it means for all of us."
In this episode, O'Sullivan meets a cross-section of South Africans grappling with their nation's legacy of apartheid and the racial inequalities that endure today. Among them is Errol Musk, Elon Musk's father, whose outspoken views mirror themes that have surfaced in American political discourse. O'Sullivan also travels to two communities built exclusively for White residents: one in South Africa's Orania and another in the Ozark Mountains of the United States, uncovering how these parallel movements reflect a shared ideology across continents.
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