South Africa bans United States hate film, threatening R500,000 fine for anyone possessing or distributing it
South Africa’s Film and Publication Board (FBP) has banned a controversial United States hate film from being possessed or distributed in the country.
The film, titled “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America”, has been refused classification by the FPB, effectively banning it.
The FPB said the film was found to advocate hatred based on an identifiable group characteristic and constitutes incitement to cause harm.
Specifically, the film contains various instances of dehumanisation, falsehoods and prejudicial language, targeting Jewish people primarily.
Some of the content that led to the banning includes denial of the Holocaust, asserting that it is a falsehood, which the FPB said is “a direct advocacy of hatred”, serving to trivialise immense suffering.
The film also contains explicit text comparing Jewish people to “parasites”, which the FPB said has a well-documented history of justifying violence, genocide and hatred towards this group.
The FPB added that the film promotes antisemitic tropes and contains “frequent and unmitigated use of racial slurs”, including the k-word.
It said this constitutes hate speech.
The film was created by an American, Ronald Dalton Jr, who claimed divine inspiration had fed him revelations “in bits and pieces about the true heritage of Black people in America”.
This led to Dalton writing a book about this “knowledge”, which was then put together into “an educational documentary DVD presentation”.
Dalton has also previously featured on South African-hosted social media podcasts.
The film was released in 2018 and existed in relative obscurity until it gained online attention in 2022 when it went viral on social media.
The FPB said the film could not be classified as a documentary.
“The content, as presented, incites hatred and spreads dangerous misinformation, failing to provide the objective and informed perspective required for a bona fide documentary,” the FPB said.
“Acknowledging that a bona fide documentary must adhere to historical accuracy, by denying the Holocaust, the film fundamentally fails this criterion.”
The FPB said that any person who knowingly broadcasts, distributes, exhibits in public, sells, or advertises the film will be guilty of an offence.
These persons will be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding R500,000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or both a fine and imprisonment in terms of section 24A(2)(b) of the Films and Publications Act.
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