US President Donald Trump says a genocide is taking place in South Africa, a claim a judge dismissed as "imaginary".

Asked by a reporter why he was welcoming white South Africans to the U.S. as refugees, President Donald Trump said there was "a genocide that's taking place" against white farmers in the country. Experts say the president is misapplying that term.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim this week that there is an unreported “genocide” happening against white farmers in South Africa was his harshest accusation yet against a country he has moved to punish over a range of issues.