There is a special kind of energy that comes with election season in South Africa. The conversations at taxi ranks, the debates on social media, the hope and the anxiety in equal measure. As the country waits for the official outcome of the 2026 Local Government Elections, the Government has stepped forward with a clear and urgent message: do not let false information steal the meaning of this democratic moment. Speaking from the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s Results Operations Centre in Midrand on Friday, Government Deputy Spokesperson William Baloyi appealed to every South African and every political party to…

For too many families, the conversation about giving a loved one with disabilities their first phone or smartwatch has never felt like a milestone. It feels like a trap. On one side is the fear of all the things that can go wrong online—strangers, scams, bullying, endless rabbit holes of content that a young person isn’t ready to process. On the other side is the quiet guilt of keeping someone isolated from the very tools that help them connect with friends, build life skills, and take part in the world. It’s a painful either/or, and for years, caregivers and state…