This periodic report is the second in a series of bi-monthly reports that focus on conversations about foreign nationals in South Africa on social media. This report covers the date range of 1 to 15 July 2022. Key hashtags in the conversation were #operationdudula, #putsouthaficansfirst and #putsouthafricansfirst. Operation Dudula’s reach continued to grow during the report period. A variety of incidents of violent crime dominated the conversation with speculation that put the blame on foreign nationals despite there being no evidence that this was the case. Key accounts within the conversation were found to be exhibiting behaviours that could be markers of behaviours designed to manipulate the conversation.
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