Gareth Cliff Calls Out DIRCO Over Alleged Deleted Post Claiming SA Has Largest White Population

• Gareth Cliff flagged a post by DIRCO on X that made a claim about South Africa's white population
• DIRCO allegedly deleted the post after users pointed out the figures were inaccurate
• Mzansi weighed in on the controversy, with reactions ranging from outrage to ridicule

A now-deleted post by South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has landed the government body in hot water after Gareth Cliff, host of The Gareth Cliff Daily Briefing, drew attention to the blunder on X.

The post, which appeared on DIRCO's official X account, claimed that South Africa has the largest white population "outside the Northern Hemisphere." The statement was swiftly pulled after users flooded the replies with corrections, noting that the figures were wildly off the mark.

Gareth Cliff, who previously mocked Ronald Lamola, weighed in, this time targeting DIRCO. See

The numbers that exposed DIRCO

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According to PETZER's post, Argentina is home to an estimated 35 million white people, Australia has nearly 20 million, and Brazil, a country located almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere, has more than 80 million. South Africa's white population, by contrast, sits at around 4.5 million, making DIRCO's claim difficult to defend on any reasonable reading of the data.

See Gareth Cliff's post that mocked DIRCO's claim:

Mzansi Reacts to DIRCO's Deleted Post

The controversy sparked a wave of responses, with South Africans taking very different sides of the debate. Below is a selection of what people had to say:

@MarcoOl57809570 wrote:

"Ah, of course. And the mainstream media will listen to our propaganda machine instead of the people. Of course, to suit their own agendas."

@BrianMi53475147 was blunt:

"If you had only 2 brain cells, you would be overqualified to work for Dirco."

@Victor78043292 pushed back entirely: "Gareth, there is NO WHITE GENOCIDE IN SOUTH AFRICA 🇿🇦"

@QhayiyaN had little sympathy for the outrage:

"Shame you're even making up scenarios in your head. Truth is, Lamola and Cyril have you liars in a chokehold; they're not folding 😂"

@JonathanSibany1 took a more pointed jab at Cliff himself:

"I am surprised you haven't migrated to the US already. Don't you wanna be a refugee?"

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Gareth Cliff mocks Panyaza Lesufi

In a separate development, Gareth Cliff fired back at Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi's handling of the Ekurhuleni killings by quoting Donald Trump on X, as reported by Briefly News,

Lesufi announced a lockdown of Kempton Park and surrounding areas on 17 September 2026, prompting ridicule over the public warning.

Source: Briefly News