This report is a deep dive into the sustained prominence of #PhalaPhalaFarmGate within South Africa’s online democracy conversation. For the past 14 weeks, #PhalaPhalaFarmGate has been a top 10 trending hashtag within this conversation. Findings of this report over the period include #PhalaPhalaFarmGate being responsible for sustained anti-Ramaphosa sentiment since the beginning of June 2022 and the deliberate use of the hashtag to keep the conversation among the top trending topics. A key finding of the report is that there is clear evidence that influential proponents of the RET Twitter network are behind the sustained prominence and narrative manipulation within the #PhalaPhalaFarmGate online conversation.
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