Dear Readers,
In the 20 January 2026 edition of the People's Post there were smalls ads under a Herbalist heading and they have an Important Notice to Readers under them. It says among other things under the heading Disclaimer at quackery advertisements. "People's Post and Novus Media do not accept any liability whatsoever in respect of any of the services or goods advertised". So it is dishonest for the paper to carry advertisements which it admits are fraudulent or are for unproven products or services. And the paper is clearly admitting this because it won't take any responsibility for the truth of these advertisements. Elsewhere in the paper under a Press Code heading it says: "People's Post subscribes to the South African Press Code and we are committed to journalism that is honest, accurate, fair and balanced." Well there is nothing "honest, fair," and "balanced"about publishing what the paper itself describes as "quackery."
It is being totally dishonest just to make money.
When I complained to Professor George Claassen the Ombudsman for People's Post he replied saying: "Firstly, thank you for bringing these misleading advertisements to our attention. We appreciate your feedback and agree with you that these advertisements should never have been published in the format and with the wording they appear.
"Secondly, I can assure you Novus Media, publisher of People's Post and other weekly titles, has taken the necessary steps to prevent this from happening again. There maybe some of these advertisements in this week's paper as it had already been to the printers when we received your complaint, but it won't happen again. The Advertising Regulatory Board's code will be diligently applied."
He was the Media Ombudsman for People's Post before it became part of the Novus Group and when he was there I told him in 2018 that, "I see that your group is not concerned about some of the ads it is happy to carry just to make money." And he replied: "I agree with you. Many of these ads are totally misleading and even fraudulent." So how many similar ads have appeared while he has been the Ombudsman for the Novus Group before I started monitoring them? I would have expected more from a former Professor of Journalism at Stellenbosch University, who has written a best selling Afrikaans book on quackery.
The biggest of the three questionable People's Post ads that I brought to the Professor's attention was headed Adodo Expert Healer, Quick Results. He/She promised Magic ring for money in account; Win Tenders Powerball; Any amount in your account; Promotion at work; Remove evils spirits and enemies and a host of other improbably things. This was typical of the mumbo jumbo that has appeared in what has been dubbed Herbalist advertisements.
When I first contacted Professor Claassen in 2018 he was the Ombudsman for Media 24 which owned People's Post before it was taken over by the Novus Group that publishes 21 free community newspapers in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape as well as in the Free State.
Regards,
Jon, the Poor man's Press Ombudsman.
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