One language group in South Africa seemed to have leapt at the opportunity to enter into same-sex marriages – if a version of Wikipedia is to be believed
More than a decade ago South Africa became the first African country to legalise same-sex marriages. But the bulk of these weddings take place between people of only one language group, according to online encyclopedia Wikipedia’s Afrikaans version.
Wikipedia Afrikaans tweeted: “About 80% of same-sex marriages in SA are by Afrikaans speakers.”
One of our readers asked us to look into this claim, saying it’s a “goodie”.
The claim is contained in a photo caption on a page about same-sex marriage in South Africa. Wikipedia Afrikaans contributor Sören Pfauder said he determined that the person who inserted the caption drew the information from a 2010 New York Times article. “However, it only refers to one church community in Cape Town,” Pfauder said.
The story featured a Cape Town reverend, Daniel Brits, who had officiated at more than 500 same-sex weddings in four years.
This story was first published by the Africa Check, a Wits Journalism project. Please click on the following link to read the full article: No way to verify whether 80% of same-sex marriages in SA are by Afrikaans speakers
