In Zimbabwean online spaces, especially Twitter, use of phantom names is widespread. It is arguable that this is partially a result of the country’s repressive political environment. It is the names that the nameless Twitter characters select and the motivations for using specific names that are the focus of this present study. The study is grounded in anthroponomastic concepts of pseudonymity and self-naming, and self-presentation and identity theory as well as semiotics of names while methodologically it is qualitative. Specifically, the study deploys archival research and netnography to gather data. The study found out that the ghosts’ adopted names are reflective of what they tweeted. The messages they tweeted were reflective of the online identity that they assumed; however, over and beyond that, their tweets exposed their political, and to an extent, religious inclinations. The tweets also exposed their origins and the spaces they once occupied or currently occupy. Finally, the article concludes that hiding behind a ghost name may hide the name of the person but it certainly does not hide the identity/identities of the person behind the phantom name. His or her being is self-evident in his or her tweets—they imprint themselves into their tweets. The anonymity in online spaces may, after all, be just superficial.

在津巴布韦的在线空间，尤其是 Twitter，虚拟名称的使用非常普遍。可以说，这在一定程度上是该国压制性政治环境的结果。无名 Twitter 角色选择的名字和使用特定名字的动机是本研究的重点。该研究以假名和自命名的拟人学概念、自我呈现和身份理论以及名称符号学为基础，而在方法论上则是定性的。具体而言，该研究部署了档案研究和网络志来收集数据。研究发现，鬼魂的名字反映了他们在推特上发布的内容。他们在推特上发布的消息反映了他们所假设的在线身份；然而，除此之外，他们的推文暴露了他们的政治、在某种程度上，宗教倾向。这些推文还暴露了他们的起源以及他们曾经或目前占据的空间。最后，文章得出结论，躲在鬼名后面可能会隐藏人名，但肯定不会在鬼名后面隐藏人的身份/身份。他或她的存在在他或她的推文中是不言而喻的——他们将自己烙印在他们的推文中。毕竟，在线空间的匿名性可能只是表面的。他或她的存在在他或她的推文中是不言而喻的——他们将自己烙印在他们的推文中。毕竟，在线空间的匿名性可能只是表面的。他或她的存在在他或她的推文中是不言而喻的——他们将自己烙印在他们的推文中。毕竟，在线空间的匿名性可能只是表面的。