--- title: "GNU 2.0 loads; why SA needs online disinformation laws fast; and old dinosaur tracks found in WC" description: "GNU 2.0 loads. Why SA needs online disinformation laws, quick. And 140 million year old dinosaur tracks found in Western Cape - all in the weekend wrap." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "THE WEEKEND WRAP" author: "Daily Maverick" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/dailymaverick/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-05-gnu-2-0-loads-why-sa-needs-online-disinformation-laws-fast/" published: "2025-04-05T07:45:28" updated: "2025-04-05T07:50:43" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 869 --- # GNU 2.0 loads; why SA needs online disinformation laws fast; and old dinosaur tracks found in WC > GNU 2.0 loads. Why SA needs online disinformation laws, quick. And 140 million year old dinosaur tracks found in Western Cape - all in the weekend wrap. By Daily Maverick · Published 5 April 2025, 09:45 SAST · Updated 5 April 2025, 09:50 SAST ## Key points - As South Africa gears up for GNU 2.0, grapples with online disinformation laws, and uncovers 140 million-year-old dinosaur tracks, it seems the past and present are colliding in a rather dramatic weekend spectacle. - GNU 2.0 is on the horizon, with the Presidency asserting that participation in government requires support for its budget. - Misconceptions about US funding cuts to South Africa are debunked, clarifying the impact on programs like Pepfar. - South Africa's urgent need for online disinformation laws is highlighted amid rising white supremacist rhetoric. - Remarkable discovery: 140 million-year-old dinosaur tracks found in the Western Cape, shedding light on prehistoric life. ## Content ## The Weekend Wrap GNU 2.0 loading. Why SA needs online disinformation laws, quick. GNU 2.0 loads. And 140 million year old dinosaur tracks found in Western Cape - all in the weekend wrap. ## [GNU 2.0 loading — ‘You can’t be part of a government whose Budget you opposed,’ says Presidency](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-02-gnu-2-0-loading-you-cant-be-part-of-a-government-whose-budget-you-opposed-says-presidency/) Life after the DA: Will the GNU reshuffle, shrink or shatter? We’ve got some numbers. By Ferial Haffajee ## [Three common myths about US funding cuts to South Africa](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-01-three-common-myths-about-us-funding-cuts-to-south-africa/) There is no shortage of myths about the cancellation of US foreign assistance. This includes the widely held misconception that Pepfar is exempt from US aid cuts and the belief that grant terminations are taking place only in South Africa. Many of these falsehoods have been reinforced by US and South African officials. Spotlight and GroundUp dissect some of the most popular misconceptions. By Jesse Copelyn ## The Weekend Wrap GNU 2.0 loading. Why SA needs online disinformation laws, quick. GNU 2.0 loads. And 140 million year old dinosaur tracks found in Western Cape - all in the weekend wrap. ![gnu budget da anc](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Ferial-GNU2-copy-720x419.jpg) ## [GNU 2.0 loading — ‘You can’t be part of a government whose Budget you opposed,’ says Presidency](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-02-gnu-2-0-loading-you-cant-be-part-of-a-government-whose-budget-you-opposed-says-presidency/) Life after the DA: Will the GNU reshuffle, shrink or shatter? We’ve got some numbers. By Ferial Haffajee ![myths us funding sa](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/donald_trump_white_house_huge-720x480.jpg) ## [Three common myths about US funding cuts to South Africa](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-01-three-common-myths-about-us-funding-cuts-to-south-africa/) There is no shortage of myths about the cancellation of US foreign assistance. This includes the widely held misconception that Pepfar is exempt from US aid cuts and the belief that grant terminations are taking place only in South Africa. Many of these falsehoods have been reinforced by US and South African officials. Spotlight and GroundUp dissect some of the most popular misconceptions. By Jesse Copelyn ![trump afrikaners](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ED_546987-720x543.jpg) ## [How many Afrikaners will be approved for refugee status in the US?](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-31-how-many-afrikaners-will-be-approved-for-refugee-status-in-the-us/) A new report by the New York Times suggests that only 100 Afrikaner farmers have been earmarked for potential approval for refugee status so far. By Rebecca Davis ## [Power Chat – Ferial Haffajee and Breitbart’s Joel Pollak on democracy, foreign policy, and power](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-30-power-chat-ferial-haffajee-and-breitbarts-joel-pollak-on-democracy-foreign-policy-and-power/) In this episode of Power Chat, Daily Maverick associate editor Ferial Haffajee sits down with Joel Pollak – a South African-born American conservative commentator, author, and senior editor-at-large at Breitbart News. By Ferial Haffajee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z96UkW7SM7E ## [Tembeka Ngcukaitobi highlights expropriation act’s impact on young farmers at Mzansi indaba](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-03-tembeka-ngcukaitobi-highlights-expropriation-acts-impact-on-young-farmers-at-mzansi-indaba/) Young farmers struggling to scale up due to not having land to access funding. By Naledi Sikhakhane ![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Thembeka-720x482.jpg) ## [World champs of white supremacy — why SA needs online disinformation laws, quick](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-31-world-champs-of-white-supremacy-why-sa-needs-online-disinformation-laws-quick/) If their numbers were so small, why were they so loud? This was the statistical question that could be asked of South Africa’s new white supremacists, who appeared to be riding social media algorithms that were perfectly suited to their prejudices. By Kevin Bloom ![soweto pensioner rdp house](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG_20250326_140944_1-720x471.jpg) ## [‘Sometimes I cry’ — after applying in 1996, Soweto pensioner Emily Mohape still dreams of an RDP home](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-31-soweto-pensioner-still-dreams-of-an-rdp-house/) Emily Mohapi, 86, who still lives in a shack after she applied for an RDP house almost 30 years ago, says, ‘I want to die in a house, not in this makeshift.’ By Bheki C. Simelane ## [Dinosaur tracks, made 140 million years ago, have been found for the first time in South Africa’s Western Cape](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-31-dinosaur-tracks-made-140-million-years-ago-have-been-found-for-the-first-time-in-south-africas-western-cape/) Dinosaur tracks were found in a rugged, remote coastal South African setting. By Guy Plint and Charles Helm ## [The Kelly Smith story – from promising student to charged with selling her daughter](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-01-the-kelly-smith-story-from-promising-student-to-charged-with-selling-her-daughter/) Racquel ‘Kelly’ Smith was born in 1990 and adopted by her grandparents. Family members have described her as a promising student. With her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, she’s now on trial for allegedly selling her daughter, Joshlin Smith. By Vincent Cruywagen ## [The Budget brouhaha and you — wallet pressure, service strain and the price of political paralysis](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-02-the-budget-brouhaha-what-it-means-for-you/) While our eyes will be glued to goings-on in the National Assembly, the real impact is on the rand in your pocket, the reliability of your local clinic and the size of your next salary. By Yeshiel Panchia ## [Popping the red pill: How toxic masculinity is reshaping young men’s identity online](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-01-popping-the-red-pill-how-toxic-masculinity-is-reshaping-young-mens-identity-online/) This isn’t some niche internet subculture, it’s disturbingly mainstream, alarmingly widespread, and quietly reshaping how millions perceive masculinity. By Kavisha Pillay ## [SA schoolboy rugby is the base on which world domination should continue indefinitely](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-03-sa-schoolboy-rugby-is-the-base-on-which-world-domination-should-continue-indefinitely/) Springbok rugby has nothing to fear for years to come thanks to its growing production line. By Craig Ray ## [Human impact on nature is putting biodiversity under massive pressure](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-01-human-impact-on-nature-is-putting-biodiversity-under-massive-pressure/) From the smallest microbes to the largest mammals, a sweeping new study has painted the clearest picture yet of how human activity is reshaping life on Earth. By Don Pinnock [![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023_04_24_CROSSWORDS-GIF-TEST3-1.gif)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/mini-crosswords/) ## [Daily Mini Crossword Quickie](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/mini-crosswords/) [Play here.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/mini-crosswords/) ## [Meghan Markle’s ‘skillet spaghetti’ stirs debate: Is she a culinary genius or a copycat?](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-04-meghan-markles-skillet-spaghetti-stirs-debate-is-she-a-culinary-genius-or-a-copycat/) Meghan Markle’s spaghetti recipe from her Netflix series has ignited an online backlash, with critics accusing her of stealing from Martha Stewart. I explored the controversy and even put my flavourful spin on the recipe. By Ray Mahlaka [Subscribe to First Thing](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/edit-my-profile/) to receive the Weekend Wrap in your inbox every Sunday morning. 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