[1] The channel's launch in August 2013 was initially met with public mockery when numerous technical issues and mistakes made by untrained presenters went viral online.

"[citation needed] In March 2017, during the run-up to President Jacob Zuma's firing of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan — who had previously actively resisted the pro-Zuma Gupta family's continued and repeated attempts at state capture of the Treasury, Eskom and other state-owned companies — ANN7 ran repeated and aggressive propaganda campaigns to discredit the minister, often using incomplete or fabricated evidence.

The channel was fiercely criticised for spreading partial, biased and fake news in a bid to undermine the Finance Minister, and paint the President in a more favourable light.

[6] The international news broadcaster Al Jazeera English reported that Zuma's close relationship with the Guptas has "translated into friendly coverage in the outlets they own,"[7] such as ANN7 and The New Age newspaper.

During the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture in June 2019 former ANN7 editor, Rajesh Sundara, testified that then president Jacob Zuma was actively involved in running the station and dictating its content and message.