ABSTRACT

Fake news and cyber-propaganda were ubiquitous in the mainstream and social media during the 30 July 2018 Zimbabwe election. Both the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) party under Emmerson Mnangagwa and their nemesis the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance under Nelson Chamisa resorted to “fake news” and cyber-propaganda warfare. However, there is a dearth of studies systematically engaging the subject. This article is qualitative. It utilises an interpretive approach to discuss thematic issues raised in purposively selected pro-MDC Alliance fake news and cyber-propaganda circulated on WhatsApp during the period under study and how these issues were articulated. The study demonstrates that the MDC’s humorous cyber-propaganda largely focused on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and ZANU PF’s alleged electoral shenanigans aimed at manipulating the “people’s will”. The intention was to delegitimise the electoral process, insinuating that any result announced by the ZEC not confirming a Nelson Chamisa victory would not be a true reflection of the people’s will. This cyber-propaganda thrived largely because the ZEC and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) created an information vacuum by failing to give the nation regular updates after the voting process.

摘要

在2018年7月30日的津巴布韦大选中，假新闻和网络宣传在主流和社交媒体中无处不在。埃默森·曼南格格瓦（Emmerson Mnangagwa）领导下的执政的津巴布韦非洲民族联盟爱国阵线（ZANU PF）政党和纳尔逊·查米萨（Nelson Chamisa）领导下的克敌民主变革运动（MDC）联盟都诉诸“假新闻”和网络宣传战。但是，缺乏系统地吸引该学科的研究。本文是定性的。它使用一种解释性方法来讨论在研究期间在WhatsApp上有目的选择的亲MDC联盟虚假新闻和网络宣传中提出的主题问题，以及如何阐明这些问题。该研究表明，MDC的幽默网络宣传主要集中在津巴布韦选举委员会（ZEC）和ZANU PF所谓的旨在操纵“人民意愿”的选举恶人。目的是使选举过程合法化，这表明ZEC宣布的任何结果都不能证实纳尔逊·查米萨（Nelson Chamisa）的胜利，但这并不是对人民意愿的真实反映。这种网络宣传之所以兴隆，主要是因为ZEC和津巴布韦广播公司（ZBC）通过在投票过程后未能及时向国家提供最新消息而造成了信息真空。暗示ZEC宣布的任何结果都不能确认Nelson Chamisa的胜利，都不能真正反映人民的意愿。这种网络宣传之所以兴隆，主要是因为ZEC和津巴布韦广播公司（ZBC）通过在投票过程后未能及时向国家提供最新消息而造成了信息真空。暗示ZEC宣布的任何结果都不能确认Nelson Chamisa的胜利，都不能真正反映人民的意愿。这种网络宣传之所以兴隆，主要是因为ZEC和津巴布韦广播公司（ZBC）通过在投票过程后未能及时向国家提供最新消息而造成了信息真空。