Good morning, South Africa, and here is the very best kind of news to start your day: Leanne Manas, one of the country’s most trusted and beloved news anchors, is not going anywhere. For more than two decades, she has been the warm, familiar face of SABC’s Morning Live, waking up with the nation and guiding viewers through everything from serious political developments to the lighter, human stories that make South Africa what it is. So you can imagine the collective shock when a fake account on TikTok, pretending to be Manas, posted a video claiming she had resigned from the show. The clip went viral in the way that only alarming news can travel these days, gathering thousands of views and an outpouring of stunned and saddened comments from people who couldn’t quite believe that a household name, someone who had become part of the daily rhythm of millions of homes, was reportedly leaving after all these years. The post was eventually removed, but not before the damage of confusion and worry had already spread across social media. For a while, it seemed as though South Africa might have to say goodbye to one of its most constant and reassuring presences on daytime television, a woman whose calm authority has helped so many of us face the news, no matter how heavy or complicated the day ahead might feel.
But then, on Sunday evening, the real Leanne Manas stepped forward to set the record straight in the most wonderfully human way possible. Taking to Facebook, she addressed the swirling rumours directly, with the kind of down-to-earth grace and honesty that has made her so beloved in the first place. She made it absolutely clear that she had not resigned from the SABC at all. Instead, she had simply been away enjoying a well-deserved holiday in Spain, soaking up some sun and taking a proper break from the early mornings that have defined her professional life for so many years. The news that she would be returning to our screens the very next morning felt like a collective exhale for the country, a reminder that sometimes the wild rumours that spiral across the internet are nothing more than clouds without rain. There she was, reassuring everyone with warmth, patience and a touch of humour, telling followers not to waste too much time on the fake news making its rounds, but kindly taking a moment to clear things up anyway. She confirmed that she remained very much part of the public broadcaster and would be back on our screens bright and early, ready to deliver the hard-hitting and breaking stories that matter most to South Africans.
In her statement, Manas also used the opportunity to warn her followers about the growing number of impersonator accounts lurking on social media platforms, particularly TikTok. She explained, with a sense of firm but gentle caution, that every TikTok account claiming to be her is fake. In fact, she has never posted a single thing on that platform, and so any content appearing under her name there should be dismissed immediately. It is a sobering reminder of how easily our digital world can be manipulated, how simple it is for someone to create a false persona with a stolen name, a familiar face and a convincing story, and how quickly millions of people can be led to believe something that has no basis in reality whatsoever. The fact that this particular lie was about a much-loved public figure may have made it more noticeable, but the underlying lesson applies to all of us. In an age where misinformation spreads faster than ever, where a single deceptive video can reach more people in a few hours than a traditional news broadcast might in a full day, we all need to be more careful, more curious and more willing to pause before we panic. Manas could have simply ignored the rumor, but she chose to address it openly, because she understands the relationship she has with her audience is built on trust, and that trust is worth protecting.
That trust has been carefully earned over a remarkable career that very few broadcasters anywhere in the world can match. Leanne Manas has been anchoring Morning Live since 2004, which means she has now celebrated twenty incredible years on the show, an extraordinary tenure that places her in the same rare company as broadcasting legends like Riaan Cruywagen and Noxolo Grootboom. To remain relevant, respected and genuinely loved by viewers for two full decades is no small achievement in any field, but it is especially remarkable in the fast-moving, often unforgiving world of television news, where ratings shift, formats change and new faces constantly compete for attention. Manas has survived all of that not by chasing trends, but by simply being herself: professional, warm, curious, empathetic and utterly reliable. She has been there through national triumphs and tragedies, through election nights and natural disasters, through moments of celebration and moments of collective grief, and through it all, she has remained a steady hand for the nation. Beyond her work on the morning show, she has also built an impressive legacy as a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador, using her platform to draw attention to the struggles and resilience of displaced people around the world. And in 2022, she was awarded France’s prestigious National Order of Merit, with the rank of Chevalier, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to journalism and social impact.
That kind of recognition, from both international institutions and the ordinary South Africans who watch her every morning, speaks to something deeper than simply showing up and reading the news. It speaks to a genuine commitment to the role that journalism plays in a healthy society, and to the understanding that the news is not just about facts and headlines, but about people. Leanne Manas has always brought a human touch to her work, an ability to connect with viewers as if they are old friends sharing a cup of coffee at the start of the day. She has interviewed presidents and celebrities, but she has also given voice to ordinary citizens, to communities in pain, to dreamers and survivors whose stories might otherwise have gone unheard. That is why the fake resignation rumor struck such a nerve, because the idea of losing her felt like losing a small piece of the connective tissue that holds the nation together in the morning. We have come to rely on her not just for information, but for a sense of continuity, for the comforting knowledge that no matter what is happening in the world, there will be a familiar face on our screens, ready to guide us through it with clarity and compassion.
In the end, perhaps the whole episode can serve as a gentle, timely reminder for all of us. We are living in an era where misinformation can spread faster than the truth, where one carefully crafted lie can travel around the country while the correction is still struggling to catch up. The lesson is not that we should stop trusting what we see online, because that would be impossible and unfair, but rather that we should double-check our sources, stick to verified channels and take everything we encounter on social media with a pinch of salt. If a beloved news anchor can be falsely reported as resigning simply because someone created a fake account, then none of us are immune to the power of a convincing falsehood. We all have a responsibility, not just to ourselves but to each other, to pause, verify and share with care. And if there is a silver lining in this strange little episode, it is that it reminded us just how much Leanne Manas means to South Africa, how deeply she is woven into the fabric of our mornings and how fortunate we are to still have her with us. So let us take a moment to appreciate the constant presence of honest, dedicated journalists like her, and to celebrate the fact that tomorrow morning, as always, she will be there to help us greet the day. Good morning, and good news, indeed.