In the first half of 2022, the extent of xenophobic content related to South Africa on social media increased. The most prominent hashtag in the conversation, #OperationDudula, is characterized by a negative sentiment directed toward foreigners. It appears that this may be a coordinated influence operation. On Nimmo’s breakout scale for measuring the impact of...
Social media has undoubtedly become society’s primary source of entertainment, communication, and information. Monthly active Facebook users in Afrika total 139 million, while Twitter records Afrikan monthly users at 50 million.The ease of use of social media has substantially decreased the cost of producing news and information. Small to medium players with efficient tools are...
Evidence gathered for amaBhungane suggests that if South Africa descends into xenophobic violence, it will be disproportionately due to the actions of a few political actors. Read full article
Online narratives that surfaced following the death of Zimbabwean Elvis Nyathi in Diepsloot appear to have been manipulated to sow discord between South Africans and resident foreign nationals. Read full article
Between 7 and 8 April 2022, The Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change was alerted to an online narrative that surfaced following the death of a Zimbabwean man named Elvis Nyathi in Diepsloot on 6 April 2022. News of Nyathi’s death was revealed as tensions continue to build about the work of an organisation called...
While fears of an escalation of social tensions and violence grow in many communities, the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change looked at some of the factors that drive the online conversation around #OperationDudula. Read the full article
National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure has confirmed that law enforcement agencies are on high alert following rumours of a national shutdown on Monday. Read full article
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure confirmed that law enforcement agencies are becoming more vigilant following rumors of a national closure on Monday. This was after a similar campaign last month caused widespread anxiety in KwaZulu-Natal and Houten, claiming the lives of more than 350 people and the loss of billions of rands. Unconfirmed…...
This is a summary of the trending, highest impact, and most active themes and their narratives related to social cohesion and division in South African public-domain social media conversations on 24 August 2020. Download full report
