Doxing and Harassment of American Officials by the South African Government

The full media note states that the U.S. government "condemns in the strongest terms" the South African government’s recent detention of U.S. officials who were, according to the U.S., carrying out duties to provide humanitarian support to Afrikaners. It further says that the South African government or associated actors publicly released those officials’ passport information (“doxing”), which the U.S. calls an unacceptable form of harassment and an attempt to intimidate U.S. personnel on official business in South Africa. The statement says the U.S. will not tolerate such behavior toward its officials or citizens abroad, warns that failing to hold those responsible accountable will result in “severe consequences,” and calls on the South African government to take immediate action to end the situation and hold those responsible accountable.

In the publicly available text of the media note, no individual American officials are named. The statement only refers generically to “U.S. officials performing their duties to provide humanitarian support to Afrikaners” and to “our U.S. officials’ passport information,” without identifying any person by name, title, or post.

The media note does not cite specific evidence, documents, or third‑party sources. It asserts, without additional detail, that South African authorities recently detained U.S. officials engaged in humanitarian work and that those officials’ passport information was publicly released. No dates, locations, responsible agencies, or links to further documentation are provided in the text of the statement itself.

The State Department’s media note announces mainly diplomatic warnings, not specific concrete measures. It:

• Condemns the detention and doxing of U.S. officials.
• States that the United States “will not tolerate such behavior” toward its officials or citizens abroad.
• Warns that failure by the South African government to hold those responsible accountable “will result in severe consequences.”
• Calls on the South African government to take immediate action to bring the situation under control and hold those responsible accountable. The note does not spell out particular sanctions or legal steps, only the prospect of unspecified “severe consequences.”

As of the available reporting, South African authorities have disputed the U.S. characterization of events but have not issued a formal statement that uses the same “doxing and harassment” framing. Press coverage in South Africa indicates that the Department of Home Affairs and government‑aligned outlets argue that the U.S. personnel were caught up in an immigration enforcement action and that officials deny mistreating U.S. diplomats or intentionally doxing them. However, no single official written response explicitly titled as a rebuttal to the State Department’s “Doxing and Harassment” media note has been published on a central government site that is easily accessible.

The release is explicitly labeled a "Media Note" from the "Office of the Spokesperson" at the U.S. Department of State, dated December 18, 2025. No individual spokesperson (e.g., by name) is listed in the text that has been republished on other sites.

If the State.gov page is unavailable, the full text of the media note can be accessed from several other locations that have republished it verbatim:

• The U.S. Embassy & Consulates in South Africa website, which hosts the media note in full.
• Politicsweb’s document section, which reproduces the text under the same title and attributes it to the State Department’s Office of the Spokesperson.
• PublicNow and similar document‑aggregation services that mirror official U.S. government releases. These copies match the wording of the original State Department media note.