The revolution will be tweeted: How Twitter is driving the #NationalShutdown in SA

Monday, March 20, is the day of the #NationalShutdown in South Africa. The protest is spearheaded by the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) towards the nation’s lingering energy scarcity. The occasion additionally  known as for the resignation of president Cyril Ramaphosa. 

Described by the EFF as a peaceable protest and by the ANC as an anarchical protest with a chance of violence much like the July 2021 protests which become widespread looting and violence.  The #NationalShutdown has spawned totally different narratives that are all competing for adoption amongst the plenty.

One place the place this scrabble to manage the narrative is enjoying out is on Twitter. The EFF has, since its formation in 2013, been often called the “Twitter party” as a mocker ybecause of the incapacity of the occasion to translate its in depth social media assist to ballots. This time, nevertheless, the occasion’s Twitter exercise has translated to tangible motion on the floor as seen by the variety of companies that  have closed store on account of the shutdown. 

Whether the shutdown is as a consequence of worry of the protests escalating into violence like in July 2021 or companies supporting the protest motion is one other debate; what stays obvious is that the #NationalShutdown marketing campaign has proven the affect of social media in shaping political discourse in the nation.

War of narratives

According to Twitter hashtag tracker Tweetbinder, over the final seven days, the #NationalShutdown hashtag has garnered 519,000 tweets and  has reached over two million folks. Activity peaked at this time at about 11:00am CAT, with over 18,000 tweets posted beneath the hashtag.

EFF president Julius Malema, who has virtually 4  million followers on Twitter, in addition to different senior members of the occasion—commissar Mbuyiseni Ndlozi (1.5 million followers) and deputy president Floyd Shivambu (1.3 million followers)—have all been tweeting and retweeting a storm about the protest, notably its supposed far-reaching affect throughout the nation in addition to its non-violence.

Members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), not desirous to be outdone in the battle for proudly owning the narrative, have additionally been tweeting their very own counter-narratives. They have been mentioning the lack of affect of the protest in addition to unconfirmed stories of violence by EFF supporters in some areas.

ANC secretary normal, Fikile Mbalula, with three million Twitter followers, has particularly been at the forefront of the counter-offensive.

Signs of what’s to return in 2024

South Africa goes to presidential and parliamentary polls in 2024 and at this time’s social media actions round the #NationalShutdown provides a sneak peek of what to anticipate when political campaigns get underway. From at this time’s shutdown, it is clear that social media is going to play an influential position in deciding the stream of the tide in the 2024 normal elections. The use of social channels to mobilise exercise on the floor may be a explanation for concern for different events in 2024, particularly the ruling ANC.

The severity and affect of the shutdown are , in fact, up for debate. Some consultants have identified that the incontrovertible fact that tomorrow, Tuesday, is a public vacation in South Africa  is the motive some companies closed.  The EFF and its sympathisers, on the different hand, level to the effectiveness of their mobilisation as the motive.  Regardless of both motive, it is clear that social media in South Africa continues to play a big position in driving protest motion and will proceed to take action for the foreseeable future.