The front page of the Daily Star on Monday warned England soccer fans headed for the World Cup that they faced a "bloodbath".
Not only has the newspaper received a backlash from outraged South Africans, but at least six complaints - two from UK residents and four from South Africans - have been lodged with the UK's Press Complaints Commission (PCC).
The Daily Star has described the response as "hysterical".
The article written by Steve Hughes on Monday is headlined ''World Cup War: Machete Threat to England Fans".
The story centres on race tensions in the country following last week's murder of the AWB leader and claims South Africa is on the brink of a "full-blown race war" with "machete gangs ... roaming the streets".
It suggests the World Cup is under threat of being moved to another country or cancelled, quoting an unnamed Fifa source saying it would be a "total nightmare" if civil war broke out.
A second inflammatory story two days later warned that the AWB was signing up an ''army of new recruits" and that World Cup officials were drawing up emergency plans.
One of the complainants to the PCC, a 32-year-old South African working in London, accused the Daily Star of running a ''sensationalist story without quoting any named or credible or official sources to back up their 'civil war' and 'machete' claims".
In an official complaint filed with the PCC, a copy of which she sent to the Sunday Times, she wrote: ''Amazingly, they don't quote on record a single Fifa official or SA government official to justify the story which is presented as fact ...
"It's ultimately very damaging to SA, all its people and the World Cup," she wrote.
Journalist Steve Hughes who wrote the story, refused to discuss the source.
"Given the hysterical response to this story, and the personal insults thrown at me by South African respondents, it is also clearly unsafe for me to reveal my sources, even if I was inclined to."
World Cup Local Organising Committee spokesman Rich Mhkondo dismissed the articles as ''garbage".
''We regard it as a joke and a waste of time for us to comment ... It's the worst form of gutter journalism," he said.
The Democratic Alliance said it was an unashamed attempt to put off British tourists.
Not only has the newspaper received a backlash from outraged South Africans, but at least six complaints - two from UK residents and four from South Africans - have been lodged with the UK's Press Complaints Commission (PCC).
The Daily Star has described the response as "hysterical".
The article written by Steve Hughes on Monday is headlined ''World Cup War: Machete Threat to England Fans".
The story centres on race tensions in the country following last week's murder of the AWB leader and claims South Africa is on the brink of a "full-blown race war" with "machete gangs ... roaming the streets".
It suggests the World Cup is under threat of being moved to another country or cancelled, quoting an unnamed Fifa source saying it would be a "total nightmare" if civil war broke out.
A second inflammatory story two days later warned that the AWB was signing up an ''army of new recruits" and that World Cup officials were drawing up emergency plans.
One of the complainants to the PCC, a 32-year-old South African working in London, accused the Daily Star of running a ''sensationalist story without quoting any named or credible or official sources to back up their 'civil war' and 'machete' claims".
In an official complaint filed with the PCC, a copy of which she sent to the Sunday Times, she wrote: ''Amazingly, they don't quote on record a single Fifa official or SA government official to justify the story which is presented as fact ...
"It's ultimately very damaging to SA, all its people and the World Cup," she wrote.
Journalist Steve Hughes who wrote the story, refused to discuss the source.
"Given the hysterical response to this story, and the personal insults thrown at me by South African respondents, it is also clearly unsafe for me to reveal my sources, even if I was inclined to."
World Cup Local Organising Committee spokesman Rich Mhkondo dismissed the articles as ''garbage".
''We regard it as a joke and a waste of time for us to comment ... It's the worst form of gutter journalism," he said.
The Democratic Alliance said it was an unashamed attempt to put off British tourists.
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