One such initiative is the comments section. After we initially offered the ability to comment only to Maverick Insiders, a few months ago we invited all readers with a free Daily Maverick account to participate.
We decided to open up this space to everyone in the hope that it would be a place for readers to have robust discussions, intelligent debate and to constructively add to our professional journalism.
Unfortunately, the comments section has since been infiltrated by people who through fake names and fake email accounts actively and intentionally spread disinformation.
Globally, professional journalism is not just under threat but is being actively targeted by nefarious figures in an attempt to own the information system.
The battle for information integrity is one we are willing to fight. As fact-checking has now been removed from social media, professional journalism needs to protect our own platforms from mis- and disinformation.
Daily Maverick has therefore decided that the comments section will henceforth again only be open to Maverick Insider members. Our members support our mission to Defend Truth and they, like us, do not want to see our platform being abused to spread toxicity, misinformation or disinformation. In order to become a member, a verified email address must be provided.
This may be a temporary measure while we investigate avenues to ensure that no mis- or disinformation can be posted on Daily Maverick.
To our members, we invite you to be active participants in our comments section but please read our comments policy in advance of posting. DM