Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The growing popularity of social media in Southern Africa makes it a potent tool for political mobilization. Given the recent fundamental changes of the political landscape in the region as exemplified by the resignation of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe on 21 November 2017, the resignation of Jacob Zuma in South Africa on 14 February 2018 and the repeated attempts to impeach Edgar Lungu in Zambia in 2018. It is important to investigate the extent to which social media is influencing political mobilization in Southern Africa. By focusing on South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe this research will establish the extent to which social media is impacting on political mobilization in Southern Africa. The research questions are; One what kind of political messages are sent through Twitter in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe? Two do politicians, civic organizations and ordinary citizens use Twitter for political mobilization in South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe? Three can the use of Twitter for political mobilization in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe be optimized? The qualitative method of content analysis will be used to examine a purposive sample of tweets from politicians, civic organizations and ordinary citizens collected from November 2017 to July 2018. By examining how Twitter is being used for political mobilization in South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe this research will add to literature that deals with social media and political mobilization. As a comparative case study, this research will show how different contexts can influence the use of Twitter.