Sixth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The Government of Zimbabwe has in past shied away from the social media platforms. This was mainly influenced by the then political ideology of the ruling, which discouraged its officials from using such platforms. The paper analyses the rise of ghost accounts mainly run by government officials in perpetuating political intolerance, polarity, and also closing of the democratic space for any dissenting voices either in the opposition or civic organisations and even with the governing party. The most high ranking ghost account to be analysed among others, is @Jamwanda, Twitter account is owned by the Deputy Chief Secretary to the cabinet and Presidential spokesperson, George Charamba. The agency structure debate will be used to assess the potency of twitter in the Zimbabwean polity in the areas of propaganda, political communication, absolutism and the current trajectory towards one party state in Zimbabwe. An interpretivism philosophy is used to come up with key theoretical findings in the culture in Zimbabwe. A mixed method research approach is used to analysis data in document analysis, interviews and survey. Data is analysed using SPSS and NVIVO. The study is relevant in finding lasting solution to the Zimbabwean question, political isolation, and the re-engagement process of the country in the international community. The study will help policy formulation on the importance of social media as an agency in the political structure and digital diplomacy.