{
  "id": 1458637,
  "title": "Why do voters choose controversial leaders?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/why-do-voters-choose-controversial-leaders",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-17T09:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/thepost/opinion/2026-08-17-why-do-voters-choose-controversial-leaders/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "THERE is something peculiar about the way we talk about voters. When Americans vote for Donald Trump, commentators often conclude that they must be stupid. When South Africans support Jacob Zuma and MK, the response is similar: How could anyone possibly vote for these people?",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}