#SpeakZA -- a Twitter trending topic -- was formed earlier this week, and now has more than hundreds of followers. For the uninitiated, a Twitter trending topic is a subject of interest that gets taken up by users.

The trouble all started earlier this month when ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu attempted to "leak" a so-called dossier on City Press investigative editor Dumisane Lubisi to other reporters.

Shivambu threatened to expose reporters who refused to write about the dossier, saying that he had incriminating information about them as well.

The "dossier" alleged that Lubisi was corrupt and that he had accumulated wealth that was inexplicable because his salary as a journalist was far too low to account for his assets. Lubisi has been working with fellow City Press reporter Piet Rampedi on several stories detailing ANCYL president Julius Malema's use of political influence to get government tenders worth hundreds of millions of rands in Limpopo.

Last week a group of 19 senior political reporters wrote to the ANC, the ANCYL and the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef), decrying the intimidating tactics of the youth league and expressing concern about the league's apparent access to confidential information about journalists' private lives.

Shivambu said on March 17 he would not apologise for threatening to reveal personal details of reporters' activities, and vowed to continue doing so.

Which brings us to lone blogger and part-time law student Sipho Hlongwane, who this week kicked off the SpeakZA topic.

"As a country, we face challenges, but we face them together as a nation, with the media as a partner. A free press holds us -- as a government, as citizens, as individuals -- accountable.

"No individual or group of individuals can abridge that responsibility through threats or intimidation," said Hlongwane.

"Especially just after the anniversary of Human Rights Day, we wanted to remind the ANC of the vital role played by the the press in the liberation struggle.

"A free press is not the enemy of a free society. The ANC should not forget this."

Shivambu told the Mail & Guardian on Wednesday that he was not aware of SpeakZA.

"We have 800 000 members behind us and millions of other ANC activists ... we will not be intimidated by desktop activists," he said.

Click here to read the full report, posted on M&G Online.