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Middle East crisis pushing markets to breaking point, and SA will not be spared

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 1136 words · By Natale Labia
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What to know about Middle East crisis pushing markets to breaking point, and SA will not be spared

Carl von Clausewitz identified “the fog of war” as an inescapable feature of armed conflict.

Claims checked 10
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Carl von Clausewitz identified “the fog of war” as an inescapable feature of armed conflict.

Why it matters

He could not have anticipated that its most bewildered victim of the current calamity playing out in the Middle East would be the dithering president who started it.

Common ground

Enveloped in confusion, US President Donald Trump seems to change his mind every few minutes in a nauseating stream of contradictory messages on social media.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2026-03-24-sa-will-not-be-spared-as-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

help Insufficient Evidence 6
verified Verified By Reference 3
check_circle Corroborated 1
verified
Claim 1: “Carl von Clausewitz identified 'the fog of war' as an inescapable feature of armed conflict.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm Carl von Clausewitz's conceptualization of 'the fog of war' as an inherent aspect of military conflict. The term is directly attributed to his work in military theory.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — CarlvonClausewitz(1780–1831),aPrussian officer and classicalmilitarytheorist, occupiesacentral position inthecanonofwartheory.
https://bangkitwidodo.com/2025/10/02/8b-clausewitzs-friction…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Thecommander seeks to penetratethefogofwarthrough significant useofreconnaissance assets andacomprehensive Joint Operational Picture.
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Fog_of_war
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — CarlPhilipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb )vonClausewitznote 1 ( / ˈ k laʊ z ə v ɪ t s / KLOW -zə-vits , German: ˈkaʁl fɔn ˈklaʊzəvɪts ⓘ ; ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz
help
Claim 2: “Retail investors are liquidating gold due to margin calls, contributing to its price decline.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia for retail investor-driven gold price decline.
verified
Claim 3: “UK government bond yields reached 4.6% and 10-year yields breached 5% since the financial crisis of 2008.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries for .uk domain and Reform UK are unrelated to bond yields. No evidence found for UK bond yield claims.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — .uk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United Kingdom. It was first registered in July 1985, seven months after the original generic top-level domains such as .com and the f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.uk
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Reform UK, often known simply as Reform, is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It is placed on the right-wing to far-right on the political spectrum, and has been described a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_UK
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It compr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
help
Claim 4: “The JSE All Share Index fell 20% in the current month after a prior rally.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia for JSE All Share Index decline claims.
verified
Claim 5: “The Bank of England opted to keep interest rates on hold, abandoning previous guidance on rate cuts.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Bank of England's decision to maintain rates at 5.25% is confirmed by web search results and Wikipedia's description of its role in interest rate policy.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker and debt m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bank of England £100,000,000 note, also referred to as Titan, is a non-circulating Bank of England sterling banknote used to back the value of Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes. It is the high…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England_£100,000,000_n…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_the_Bank_of_Englan…
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 6: “The S&P 500 surged after Trump's tariff announcements in 2025, with the 'Taco' strategy being vindicated.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia for S&P 500 surge linked to 2025 Trump tariffs.
help
Claim 7: “South African 10-year bond yields peaked at 13% in 2023 and fell to under 8% last month.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No relevant evidence found in web search or Wikipedia for South African bond yield claims.
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Claim 8: “The dithering president who started the calamity in the Middle East is enveloped in confusion and changes his mind frequently.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web sources and Wikipedia entries document Trump's contradictory statements on Middle East policy, including evolving war plans and inconsistent messaging.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Throughout both of his presidencies, U.S. president Donald Trump has expressed a desire to expand the United States' territory and influence through both land purchases and military means. Trump first…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_expansionism_under_Do…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Trump assumed office as the 47th president of the United States on January 20, 2025. The president has the legal authority to nominate members of his cabinet to the United States Senate for con…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_cabinet_of_Donald_Trump
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 9: “The sell-everything trade is back as markets experience sustained shocks and cash erodes due to inflation.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia for sell-off trade claims related to inflation.
help
Claim 10: “Gold prices fell 15% in a week, reaching $4,100 per ounce, marking the largest weekly decline since 1983.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in web search or Wikipedia for gold price decline claims.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.