Daily Maverick is a unique blend of news, investigations, analysis and opinion. We are a South African based publication with a worldview.
Every part of Daily Maverick is free to access and no payment is required, although some civic-minded readers participate in our voluntary membership programme designed to keep our journalism free for all.
Daily Maverick is run by an independently owned, private company with no affiliation to any other media group (or political party or religious organisation.)
It is funded through membership reader contributions, advertising, events and grants.
If you’d like to reach out to us with questions you can contact us via email.
Read DM's 10 Year Story.
Faith • Trust • Belief
In the years since Daily Maverick’s inception in 2009, the proliferation of social networks and online content has brought never-before-seen public participation into the information universe.
However, this internet-fuelled revolution also brought a change in the flow and quality of information. As a result of this explosion of digital content, what constitutes facts, trust and accuracy have all suffered. It is often said that lies travel halfway around the world before the truth has even managed to get out of bed.
Misinformation, lies and disinformation campaigns are now part of our everyday digital worlds. And one of the most effective ways to fight this onslaught is with high impact, independent public service journalism.
For us, journalism needs to do two things. Firstly, our constitution specifically asks that we help protect our fledgling democracy. And we do that with a huge investment in accountability journalism.
Secondly, journalism should help you navigate life. Helping you make better decisions, have better conversations and ultimately, aid you in the pursuit of a better life. We do this by explaining the impact of big events, providing perspective from the most experienced newsroom in South Africa’s history and bringing a range of opinions from a network of contributors that you might not agree with but will definitely want to know what they’re thinking about.
We feel we have proven our worth to you, many times over. But don’t just take our word for it. The judges at the Global Shining Light, Nat Nakasa, Taco Kuiper, Vodacom, Standard Bank and Bookmark awards have over the years repeatedly acknowledged the quality and impact of our amazing team.
Our goal is that we have a relationship of trust, where you can safely believe what you read on Daily Maverick’s pages – no matter what noise proliferates out in the world – and on your phone.
Our vision is that when you spend your valuable time with our journalism, you will know more and know better. We do that by going all out to “Defend Truth”.
Reader Covenant (written in 2009)
These are our promises to you, and what we expect from you in return.
Give us a tiny slice of your time and we’ll give you the world. We’ll also throw in a whole lot of fun, just to sweeten the deal.
In the background, there’s a whole lot more to it, of course, but that’s all just detail. Daily Maverick exists to provide you with the news, analysis, investigations, insight and opinion that you need. Whether you’re required to make big decisions or just want to hold your own over lunchtime conversation, we’ll provide the tools.
Here’s another promise: we won’t ever waste your time. We don’t let algorithms decide what is important and what is not. Our journalists and editors are humans and some of the best and most experienced ones around at that. They’ve spent decades refining the craft and, by now, they’re pretty good at it.
The result is a service that will tell you what happened yesterday, what’s happening now and what’s going to happen today and tomorrow – and what it all means.
The important stuff is all here. But we realise you may need more than that. So we’ll provide you with the social currency you need to talk to your friends about that big game yesterday, or to talk to your office buddies about what the world’s, and South Africa’s, next move is going to be. And we’re not going to let you be ignorant about the latest in arts and culture or science and technology either.
We will always be serious about you being a knowledgeable and fun person.
We’ll do all of that for you, day in and day out, and we’ll do it with the greatest of integrity. Nobody will ever pay for our opinions, no matter the size of the chequebook. We will never sell your private information, let somebody else dictate our agenda, or conspire behind your back.
You, dear reader, are at the very centre of the Daily Maverick universe.
How we’re funded
Daily Maverick journalism is funded, mainly, by three sources: philanthropy, commercial activities and support from our readers. By design, we do not have an overreliance on any single revenue source to reduce the impact of any market shocks.
Philanthropic funding is provided by grant funding institutions and individuals to the Public Benefit Organisation that houses our investigative reporting, climate crisis, internship training and civil society reporting teams. Some of these amounts are recurring for specific programmes, and some are once-off per project or focus areas.
No individual donor contributes more than 5% of our total income.
In the last 12 months, we have received grants greater than R150k from the foundations and trusts, including Donald Gordon Foundation, Vital Strategies, Roy McAlpine Charitable Foundation, Claude Leon Foundation, Open Society Foundation, Millennium Trust, Elaine & David Potter Foundation and ABSA.
Other donations are also received from individuals in their personal capacity and no amounts greater than R150,000 have been received in the last 12 months and the majority number small amounts below R1,000.
Commercial revenue is generated through the sale of advertising packages and sponsorships across our digital, print and events properties. Advertising clients range from large corporations to small and medium-sized businesses.
We sell directly to clients, through media buying agencies and through programmatic channels. We do not allow illegal products, tobacco, or sexually explicit content and services to be advertised on our properties.
Despite blocking these categories, advertisers do sometimes slip through the cracks on programmatic channels – please let us know should you see any of them. In recent years, the breadth of journalism that we pursue has grown to include book publishing and directing feature film documentaries.
Reader support is driven primarily through our membership programme, Maverick Insider. As of May 2022, we have more than 17,500 members who are recurring annual or monthly contributors (who choose the amount of their contribution).
Over the years, a robust and diversified revenue model has allowed us to build a resilient business model where no single source or even category of revenue is overly relied upon.
This helps protect us from market shocks like Covid-19 and industry disruption. Since its inception, all growth has been re-invested into creating new jobs in an industry that has lost more than 50% of its permanently employed workforce in the last decade.
In this period, Daily Maverick has created more than 120 employment opportunities, most of them permanent or near-permanent positions – more than any other media house in the country.
Strategy and direction
The overall business and editorial strategy for the organisation is set by Editor-in-chief Jillian Green and CEO Styli Charalambous, in consultation with our team leaders.
Editorial teams are led by section heads and a steering group operates as a leadership collective covering the entire breadth of teams inside Daily Maverick.
We also listen to our expert body of some of the best journalists and professionals South Africa has ever seen and regularly take the pulse of the country to assess its pressing needs.
No advertisers, members, grant funders, donors or shareholders are involved in day-to-day or long-term editorial decisions.
While we accept suggestions and tip-offs from the public the final decision to pursue any story is decided upon by the managing editors of respective teams and the editor-in-chief, who also bears ultimate responsibility for all editorial decisions.
The Daily Maverick (Pty) Shareholders
Daily Maverick is wholly owned by an investment holding company which in turn has the following shareholders:
More than 50%
None
More than 25%
Inkululeko South Africa Media (Non-Profit Company)
Less than 15%
Tondox (Pty) ltd
Noble Savage (Pty) ltd
Bakkium Share Trust
KMC Trust
Wolmarans Trust
Polyanna Trust
Angel Trust
Styli Charalambous
Branko Brkic
Tony Rattey
The board of directors are the co-founders Branko Brkic and Styli Charalambous.
Careers
Visit our Announcements Page for information about the latest positions.
Cancellation/Refund Policy
Refunds of voluntary once-off contributions will be considered if applied for within 30 days of making such a contribution. Cancellation requests for ongoing recurring monthly contributions will be processed within 30 days of receipt of notice.
Privacy Policy
We will not give your individual data to anybody, ever, unless they carry guns accompanied by a valid court order.
Some of our e-mail is sent by third-party providers (who have the servers and systems to do so quickly and efficiently); these providers are highly professional companies that comply with stringent requirements for privacy and security on the lists that we give to them.
Also, we know where they live.
We track reader habits; how long an individual spends on the site in a session, whether readers like both politics and entertainment articles, for example. We need that data to understand better how we can better serve you, the reader.
For statistics and analysis, we use the standard Effective Measure and Google Analytics services, like just about any other respectable website in the world. This general data we analyse ourselves (to see what works, where people go, what they read, that kind of thing) and we share some aspects of that data with our advertisers, so they know how many readers we have in Iceland, for example.
The data that we share, however, is generic, overall, and in no way allows for the identification of any reader. You can find the privacy policy for Google Analytics here; it falls under the general Google privacy policy.
When you sign up to receive e-mail from us or to comment on the site, we ask you for certain personal details: a telephone number, the city in which you live, and so on.
This information is optional. If you do provide it, it may make it easier for us to reach you (to tell you how awesome you are, or invite you to coffee) or to provide you with new and exciting services (like information linked with your hometown). Again, this information is not shared with anyone outside Daily Maverick.
We also use technology such as cookies, image tracking in e-mail and other forms of monitoring to help us understand reader needs and optimise the website. All of these techniques are stock standard and all data gathered is only shared with outsiders once we are satisfied that it cannot be abused.
Unless you wear a tinfoil hat to bed every single night, chances are that we are more paranoid about your privacy than you are. May it long stay that way.
Editorial Code of Practice
Daily Maverick is steadfast in its mandate of serving the country’s most important journalism needs as its north star – not ascribing to any labels other than truth-seeking.
As corruption crippled the country and dissatisfaction with government grew, Daily Maverick leaned into accountability journalism with a corruption-busting stance.
It has maintained a reputation for high-level political analysis, even as it has expanded to cover the broad spectrum of news that is expected of a daily national publisher.
Our Vision
Daily Maverick’s vision is for people to “know more and know better” after having spent time with our journalism.
Our Mission
This is achieved through its mission to “Defend Truth” – in a time when truth and facts are under attack by sophisticated mis- and disinformation campaigns.
Our hallmarks are excellent writing, stylish production, meaningful insights, and a somewhat irreverent attitude.
What do we stand for:
Truth
In an era where “truth” has become subjective to the uninformed, it is paramount that Daily Maverick’s truth is fact-based. There is no such thing as “alternative facts”, only a diversion of perception and understanding of the facts. Fact-based truth is absolute.
Accuracy and Verification
Check your sources and verify with your editor. You need to communicate with your editor at all times to ensure the process is water-tight. Understand that five sources all derived from the same original source is actually only one source.
Transparency
The written word is often subjectively interpreted. Daily Maverick’s journalism needs to be fully transparent in order to mitigate this well. Facts and data are available to us. We use them. Every time.
We never omit any facts.
We are transparent about who sources are (when appropriate), what their qualifications are and how and when the information was obtained. We share confidential source identity with the editor.
We give the subject of the piece the opportunity to respond, and if they decline, inform the public the opportunity was extended.
We know what we don’t know and make this clear to the reader.
We declare any grant/publishing partnership/ sponsorship/ any relationship below the specific article.
If a contributor is connected to DM in some way, or is a financial donor or partner to DM, we disclose this. Transparency is key.
Never Assume:
Assumption is the equivalent of bungee jumping without a cord. It’s not going to end well. Again, facts and data are available to us. We use them. Every time.
Independence/Objectivity:
Kovach and Rosenstiel said it best in The Elements of Journalism: “Journalistic independence is not neutrality.” It is impossible, for as long as humans are journalists, to be 100% neutral, but we strive to be fair, to be accurate and to pursue and Defend Truth. We don’t take sides. We relay the facts we have at hand.
Karl Bernstein also says “Truth is not neutral”. Understand that you will encounter bad-faith players, mis- and disinformation agents.
Audience-centric: It is essential that our journalism serves our audience. That’s not to say that we will ever create content just for clicks – we write public service journalism but we allow our audience to have a voice through their questions and feedback.
If we fail to put the benefit of our audience at the centre of our journalism, they will go elsewhere and our best efforts for them to Know More and Know Better will be wasted.
To inform about the significance:
As essential as data and audience feedback are to us, we also need to lead our audience in understanding what is significant.
Our investigations, our climate crisis coverage and our pandemic articles for example, all strive to tell our audience what they need to know to understand the world better.
Quality
We strive to be a monthly magazine-quality daily publication. Since the beginning of the Maverick publishing philosophy, we feature excellent writing, deep insight, stylish production and a healthy dose of irreverence.
How do we ensure quality:
Re-enforce production level checks
– We ensure thorough fact-checking of controversial articles, by an editor.
– We slow down when not certain about any part of the article or process.
– We focus on quality not quantity – we are not in the business of fast news, so every story must provide deeper understanding, help our readers “Know more, Know Better”.
– We tighten the editing/subbing operation to close any fact-checking loopholes, and empower the subs to question and interrogate and kick back stories that are not adding up.
– We encourage subs desk to liaise directly with writers on queries to ensure accuracy in edits.
– We are not rushed or pressured to publish – we pause and make sure all necessary steps are taken to the fullest.
Interrogate leaks of information/sources of information
We build a culture and acknowledgement that EVERY writer, even the most senior, needs an editor, and the more questions asked, the better the outcome. Everyone and everything needs to stand up to scrutiny, and be prepared to be fact-checked.
Right of Response
All subjects of critical reporting must be given a fair opportunity to respond to allegations against/involving them.
Respondents need to be given a reasonable time within which to respond. Be guided by the particular story – more time for more complicated/investigative stories or a long list of questions. Discuss with your editor what is reasonable and fair.
Reporting on Children
Our reporting is guided by Section 28.2 of the SA Bill of Rights which states that “A child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.”
Any person under the age of 18 is considered to be a child.
Children should not be photographed or interviewed without the consent of a parent, responsible adult or guardian.
Children accused of a crime or appearing in court may not be identified – The Constitutional Court has ruled that the media is not allowed to publish the identity of children who are victims, the accused or witnesses in criminal proceedings, even after they reach the age of 18. This stands unless the child gives informed consent or the court rules otherwise.
Ethical guidelines for the use of AI
Daily Maverick is committed to upholding the highest standards of journalistic integrity in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and social media offer powerful tools for news gathering, reporting, and engagement.
As a smaller organisation, AI opens up tools and resources that would have previously been only available to much bigger companies. This is incredibly powerful for lean and open-minded organisations like Daily Maverick. We must embrace this technology and harness its power to propel our work to new heights and new audiences.
These guidelines are designed to empower our journalists to use these technologies responsibly and ethically, ensuring our journalism remains accurate, fair, and independent and serves the public interest.
These guidelines are not rigid rules, but rather a framework for ethical decision-making, encouraging critical thought and responsible innovation.
They are intended to complement our existing journalistic ethics code and are based on the core values that underpin Daily Maverick’s vision to defend truth and its mission to know more and know better.
Principles
Transparency is paramount: We are transparent with our audience and internally about the significant and non-routine ways in which AI tools are used in the journalistic process, especially when AI directly contributes to content creation or influences editorial decisions. Avoid presenting AI-generated core journalistic content as purely human work without clear indication. For routine, embedded AI tools used for efficiency or research assistance, explicit disclosure is generally not required, but journalistic judgment should always guide the ethical use of these tools.
Explanation and clarifications:
What needs transparency (significant & non-routine AI use):
AI-assisted content generation of core journalism: This is the key area for transparency. If AI is used to generate text that becomes part of a published article, broadcast script, or significant journalistic output, this needs to be disclosed, at least internally to editors and potentially externally to the audience. Examples include:
Using AI to draft summaries of key sections of an investigative report that are directly included in the published piece. (Disclosure needed)
Employing AI to generate initial drafts of descriptive paragraphs for a news story. (Disclosure needed internally to editors, consider external disclosure depending on extent of AI’s role)
Using AI to create the script for a podcast/ video intro or outro. (Disclosure needed internally)
Utilising AI to create data visualisations that form a core part of a news story’s findings and presentation. (Disclosure is often implicitly understood through the nature of data viz, but consider it explicit if the AI’s role is substantial or novel methodology is used).
AI-driven editorial decisions (if significant): If AI tools are used to make significant editorial decisions, this should be considered for transparency. Examples (more theoretical currently, but important to consider for the future).
Using AI to algorithmically prioritise or select certain news stories for front-page placement based on predicted audience engagement (if this becomes a practice). (Disclosure is likely needed, as it impacts editorial choices).
Employing AI-driven tools to algorithmically flag or censor user comments (transparency about moderation policies is already important, and if AI plays a role, it should be factored into that transparency).
What generally does not require explicit transparency (routine & embedded AI use):
Routine tools for efficiency & workflow: These are tools that enhance journalist productivity but don’t directly generate the core journalistic content. Examples include:
Spell check & grammar check: These are standard writing tools, and using AI for this is assumed and doesn’t need disclosure.
Similarities to grammar/Spell check: Like grammar and spell check, tools for improving paragraph flow aim to enhance clarity, readability, and correctness of writing. They are often seen as editing aids to polish existing text.
Search engines (like Google Search, Bing, etc.): Using them for research is a fundamental journalistic practice.
Transcription services (AI-powered): Using AI-powered transcription to transcribe interviews for note-taking and quoting is a common efficiency tool.
Translation tools (AI-powered): Using AI translation tools to understand documents or communicate with sources in other languages is a research aid. No disclosure needed for routine use.
News monitoring/Alerts: AI-powered news monitoring tools that alert journalists to breaking news or relevant information are workflow aids. No disclosure needed.
The guiding principle: Audience understanding & avoiding misrepresentation
The key is to ask: “Does the audience need to know about the AI’s role in this specific instance to understand the nature and credibility of the journalism they are consuming?”
If the AI is acting as a tool to enhance efficiency or assist research in the background, and the core journalistic work (reporting, analysis, writing, editorial judgment) is still clearly human-driven, then explicit disclosure is usually not necessary.
However, if the AI is playing a more direct and substantive role in content creation or editorial decision-making, then transparency becomes important to avoid misrepresenting the journalistic process and to allow the audience to assess the information with appropriate context.
Human oversight and editorial control are essential: AI tools are powerful assistants, but human judgment, editorial oversight, and journalistic experience remain indispensable. AI should augment, not replace, human journalists.
Accuracy and verification remain the core: AI-assisted information still requires rigorous fact-checking and verification by human journalists. Do not rely solely on AI output without critical assessment.
Bias mitigation is a constant vigil: Be aware of potential biases embedded in AI algorithms and datasets. Actively work to mitigate these biases in the use of AI tools and in the interpretation of AI-generated information.
Privacy and data protection are non-negotiable: Use AI tools in a way that respects the privacy of individuals and adheres to all data protection regulations. Be mindful of the data you input into AI systems and how that data is used.
Ethical sourcing and attribution apply to AI too: When AI tools are used to gather information, trace the original sources of that information and attribute them appropriately, just as you would with human sources (Note: A recent study has shown that most AI software produces accurate citation only 60% of the time).
Ethical guidelines for social media use by Daily Maverick journalists
Opinions/Opeds
We treat the Opinions contributions as a separate section, for accountability and for focus, and to ensure that each contribution passes through the opinions desk/opinions editor.
We don’t entertain first-person accounts as opinion. Opinion is for opinion.
While sporting individual positions, opinions also need to be guided by truth and facts
Accounts of an incident should not be written by the person involved, but by a reporter who can access multiple sources independently.
Declaration policy for first time external submissions – Opeds/Opinionista/freelance writers, etc.
Articles of opinion and Oped must be separated from news articles through the use of the appropriate custom section label – Opinionista or OPED.
All Opinions and Opeds must be written from a factual basis.
While arguing a particular point, opinion or oped contributors must not misrepresent facts or context that assist readers in making sense of the facts.
Every potential first-time contributor should respond in writing to our editorial checklist, which we keep as a record and update when circumstances of the contributor may change. This should extend to freelance reporters and photographers and other contributors.
Any financial or personal relationships with entities cited in the article, or other conflicts of interests must be disclosed;
It must be disclosed whether the piece in question has been published before, and where;
The writer must submit accurate personal details as to their identity, as well as a high res head and shoulders pic of themselves;
We acknowledge use of the work of others by:
(a) identifying the original source of an idea;
(b) using quotation marks where words have been directly lifted from another source;
(c) identifying the original author immediately before or after the quoted words;
(d) where possible, including hyperlinks to original articles quoted from in addition to using quotation marks and identifying the author.
(e) Submissions which have as the subject any dispute, consumer complaint, legal action, disciplinary action etc in which the writer is the complainant/subject will not be considered for publication unless there are exceptional and compelling circumstances;
(f) Abide by editors’ final decisions on headlines and subbing.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
At Daily Maverick we believe that Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity are not just buzzwords, but the pillars of our journalism and our organisation.
We strive to make a positive difference in our society, by challenging the injustices and inequalities that have divided us for too long.
In our reporting, we make a conscious effort to reflect voices from all sectors of our society, and particularly those from marginalised groups and communities.
We are mindful of unconscious biases we may hold and actively work to counter those in the approach to our journalism.
Our journalism should aim to reflect the communities we serve and hope to serve.
Where there is a conflict/controversy:
SANEF Ethics Report Recommends:
“…ensure that decisions on editorial integrity are not determined by one individual alone and that journalists are not subject to the vagaries or personal predilections of a superior without the opportunity to seek recourse from a board comprising both editorial and newsroom journalists. This Board could receive complaints from members of the public, staff, the press ombudsman and whistleblowers about issues impacting on the credibility of titles and practitioners controlled by that media entity.”
We borrow from this in that where there is a conflict/controversy: we call on experts within the team or outside eg insiders or experts to debate, analyse, check/interrogate/fact check key articles to ensure accuracy, fairness, right of reply and adherence to the press code.
If niggling instincts persist, we don’t ignore them, even if others don’t feel the same – if there is contestation regarding a possible ethical breach, we hold off publication and call a meeting of the editorial board/section heads. There should be consensus – or at least acceptance that the issues have been thrashed through – on these matters before publication.
Confidential/Anonymous Sources
We keep the use of confidential sources to an absolute minimum. Where sources are quoted anonymously, this needs to be discussed with the commissioning editor concerned and Editor-in-Chief. The identity of anonymous sources and the reasons for anonymity must be shared with the editor.
Press Council
Daily Maverick proudly displays the “FAIR” stamp of the Press Council of South Africa, indicating our commitment to adhere to the Code of Ethics for Print and online media which prescribes that our reportage is truthful, accurate and fair. Should you wish to lodge a complaint about our news coverage, please lodge a complaint on the Press Council’s website, www.presscouncil.org.za or email the complaint to enquiries@ombudsman.org.za . Contact the Press Council on 011 484 3612.