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 influence operations, it can be considered a category six breakout – the most extreme – in that there is both a policy response that appears to be persuaded and a call for violence.
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