Hybrid media system and the July 2018 elections in post-Mugabe Zimbabwe

Abstract

This chapter investigates how, why and for what purposes political actors and citizens in Zimbabwe used traditional and digital media, especially Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, before, during and after the 30 July 2018 elections. Relying on a combination of virtual ethnography and in-depth interviews, this chapter provides new evidence of the sophisticated appropriation of the hybrid media system in a context where over 60 percent of the electorate was made up of youthful voters. Building on Mare's (2018) previous research on Facebook and electoral campaigns in Zimbabwe, this chapter cautions against the reification of digital media as the "silver bullet" with transformative power to democratize and transform toxic electoral politics in Zimbabwe.