Awards are an odd element of the media industry. Mostly, they’re fairly inane attempts at self-congratulation in an exposed world usually defined by criticism and devoid of external affirmation. But in recent years, I’ve entered into a few, reached the finals of some, and won a handful of others.

In my first year founding and manning News24’s Disinformation Desk, I won two regional Vodacom Journalist of the Year awards for two very different disinformation topics, one exposing an international fake news network based in India, and another for a body of work fact-checking disinformation spread about South Africa.

In 2026, I was a finalist for two other works in the disinformation space. One at Media24’s Excellence Awards, and another at the World Association of News Publishers Digital Media Awards. Both nominated articles exposed fake news rings again operating out of India.

Vodacom Journalist of the Year 2024

Winner: Innovation in Journalism (Regional Award)
Opening salvoes in online price wars

Vodacom Journalist of the Year 2025

Winner: Innovation in Journalism (Regional Award)
Web of deceit: How we traced India's 'Raju Singh' behind SA's viral fake news sites

Winner: Politics (Regional Award)
Body of work: "Half-truths, out-of-context claims"

Media24 Excellence Awards

Finalist: Innovation in AI/technology
Web of deceit: How we traced India's 'Raju Singh' behind SA's viral fake news sites

World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) Digital Media Awards

Finalist: Best in Countering Disinformation
Exposed: The Fake News Factory