Social media and political narratives: a case of Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper discusses Social Media’s role in Zimbabwe’s political unfolding. The paper will trace the history of social media in Zimbabwe from the early period of Baba Jukwa towards the July 2013 harmonised election. Cases like that of Itai Dzamara, Pastor Evan Mawarire and their impact on the Zimbabwe populace and the social media audiences in particular will be discussed. It will also look at the period before, during and after the July 31 2018 ‘controversial’ harmonised elections and the subsequent events that followed after the election. The paper argues that social media played a critical role in narrating the events as they unfolded. The role played by social media cannot be underestimated as it, to a greater extend influenced certain remarkable decisions by the politicians and all the political key players. The article will highlight remarkable shifts in information dissemination and even information acquisition brought about by the coming in of social media, especially on the periods in question. The paper argues that social media brought a monumental shift which ushered in citizen involvement and robust engagements and discussions which changed people’s perception of politics. This article will look at the good side and the ugly side of this shift, detailing how social media violated media ethics, exposed people to marauding opponents and how in certain instances was used as a tool to spread fake news. The paper also seeks to highlight how Cyber Warfare became prominent on various social media platforms, with proponents mainly choosing to hide behind ‘Ghost accounts’ while some used their correct credentials to amass attention and get personal political mileage through spreading biased narratives, fake news and factualized opinions. The paper will, through citing certain social media players’ accounts lay bare the effect of this tool and show where it poses as a threat as well as where it was and is an opportunity for the Zimbabwean community. The paper argues that social media changed lives, perceptions and convictions; it enlightened some while it created fanatics in others.