Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change
Racial tensions on social media are flaring up, as minority groups call on US President Donald Trump to support them in making South Africa great “again”.
Among the beliefs shared by the crowd of about 1,500 Afrikaans-speaking people who gathered outside the American Embassy in Pretoria on 15 February, according to reports, is that white farmers are under attacks, not only through so-called “farm murders” but through laws enforced by the South African government.
These events follow the signing of the Expropriation Bill into law last month, where confusion and misinformation were used to substantiate anti-expropriation narratives online. The CABC released a comprehensive report of the expropriation conversation, which can be found here.
Make South Africa Great Again (MSAGA) is derived from Trump’s famous Make America Great Again slogan which he popularised when campaigning to become president in 2016 and 2024.
The concept of making South Africa great “again” has garnered criticism online, as some argue that South Africa’s colonial and apartheid history does not signify a period when the country was indeed “great”.
MSAGA online
Between 19 January and 17 February, there were more than 20,000 mentions of the phrase “Make South Africa Great Again” on X (formerly Twitter). The use of this phrase peaked on 16 February, a day after the gathering at the American Embassy.
Online uses of MSAGA between 19 January and 16 February
Earlier mentions of the phrase during this period were inspired by a post from Elon Musk, which read: From MAGA to MEGA: Make Europe Great Again! In response, some users called for Musk to not interfere in Europe “as he did in America”. One user called for Musk to instead focus on Making South Africa Great Again, alluding to the fact that Musk was born in the country.
Examples of MSAGA being used earlier last month
A total of 345 mentions of MSAGA were recorded on 3 February 2025, when reports that Trump would cut off funding to South Africa until investigations were conducted, started circulating.
By this time, the use of MSAGA varied among individuals, with some using it to call for the removal of the ANC, and one individual using it to call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to improve service delivery and address social and economic issues and Make South Africa Great Again.
Examples of MSAGA mentions on 3 February
More than 14,000 mentions of MSAGA were recorded on 16 February, as a result of the gathering at the American Embassy in Pretoria. Dominant responses came from users who questioned when South Africa was ever great, and those who argued that the phrase simply implied ‘bring back apartheid’.
Responses to the MSAGA slogan championed as a response to the gathering of Afrikaans-speaking people at the American Embassy
Nine of the top 10 most retweeted posts in our data set included responses from users condemning the protesters, arguing that they were indeed calling for the return of apartheid. This is except for a post by the @landbourainier account, which posted a video of a truck with the MSAGA signage. With more than 3,000 reposts, the caption read: We are here “President Trump MAKE SOUTH AFRICA GREAT AGAIN”.
Pro-MSAGA voices in the conversation included the @Lebona_cabonena account, which shared a post stating the intention to register MSAGA as a political party, and @PatriotMarc, who called for the restoration of free speech and the closure of borders, among others.
Examples of pro-MSAGA voices in the conversation
The Make South Africa Great Again is not new. A similar reiteration, Make Mzansi Great Again, was peddled by proponents of the online anti-immigrant narrative to substantiate calls for the deportation of immigrants, as outlined in the CABC’s ‘Beyond Borders’ report.
When a group of white Afrikaners critical of the ANC called for South Africa to be made great again, they did not specify exactly when this country was great. A similar clarification was not made by those promoting the Make Mzansi Great Again slogan.
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