A historical perspective of the information scandal

[摘要] English: The Information Scandal, also known as Muldergate Scandal, originated when Prime Minister John Vorster and members of the Department of Information realised that international and local opinion were hostile towards the white dominated regime and its apartheid laws. The unwanted image of apartheid resulted in the deterioration of vital international links, trade, and cooperation with foreign nationalities. In order to combat this negative representation of South Africa, the Department of Information resorted to an unorthodox propaganda campaign in the 1970s.The Minister of the Department of Information, Dr Connie Mulder, and the Secretary of Information, Dr Eschel Rhoodie, believed unconventional methods of influencing opinions were justified for South Africa's survival. The Department of Information's propaganda campaign started to gain traction in 1974 when Vorster concurred to allocate a huge amount of resources to the programme. In the five years that the clandestine propaganda campaign was active, approximately 180 information projects were operational and cost millions of rand to fund.By 1977 cracks were starting to appear in the clandestine operation. A report leaked by the Auditor-General, Gerald Barrie, revealed the misuse of state funds. The Department of Information was convinced that no one would notice if irregularities of R64 million occurred. However, between 1977 and 1979 journalists exposed many of the secret operations.The Scandal ruined the political careers of Vorster, with the Head of the Bureau of State Security (BOSS), General Hendrik van den Bergh, as well as Mulder and Rhoodie. Muldergate left the Minister of Defence, P.W. Botha, with an opportunity to depose Mulder and later Vorster, ultimately securing the position of Prime Minister. While Rhoodie left the country to become a fugitive, Vorster and Mulder were taking the full brunt of the allegations. In the process, Mulder lost his leadership position within the NP, while Vorster retired as Prime Minister in 1978 and became the Ceremonial President of South Africa. Later that same year, Vorster was forced to resign from his new post in disgrace after the Erasmus Commission found him accountable of being actively involved in the Information Debacle.After more than thirty years since the Information Scandal settled, this study conveys a comprehensive history of the disinformation campaign. The main research objective of thisdissertation is to view the events of the Information Scandal as they unfolded, and after exploring the events of the Information Scandal, to be able to answer two main questions. Firstly, the approach the Department of Information applied and the impact that the propaganda campaign had on its targeted audience with an attempt to reveal whether the campaign was initially successful, or not. The second question addresses the consequences of the scandal when it met public scrutiny: how did the scandal influenced the individuals, the political sphere of South Africa and the international community's reaction.In the analysis of the Information Scandal from a contemporary perspective, the dissertation uncovers new insights into the betrayals, cover ups and deceit. It explains the use of unorthodox propaganda and its consequences from a historical point of view in assessing the successes, failures and options faced by those involved in the scandal. Hence, it creates a comprehensive historical narrative of the Information Scandal. The most notable feature of this research is how a mainly Afrikaner regime battled and tried to keep itself in power in a changing democratic world by means of persuasion and deceit.

[发布机构] University of the Free State