From transparency to opacity: storytelling in Zimbabwe under state surveillance and the internet shutdown

The Potential Role of Social Media in Peacebuilding in Zimbabwe

“…It diverges from previous works that mainly focused on the role of social media in protests and violent government responses (e.g. Gukurume, 2017; Hove & Chenzi, 2020; Madenga, 2021; Mare, 2020; Matsilele, 2022; Matsilele & Ruhanya, 2021; Munoriyarwa, 2022). This article demonstrates that securitisation of the right to protest in Zimbabwe forecloses opportunities for engagement, which negatively affects peace and development.…”

“…In Zimbabwe, the right to protest has been increasingly endangered by the state. The government shuts down the internet, either totally or partially, in the face of threatening protests in urban areas (Madenga, 2021, pp. 400–401).…”

“…As an exception, Chiweshe (2017) found that urban youths in Harare mainly used social media to discuss anything but serious political engagement thus promoting political apathy. Still, the successful use of social media in registering dissent in Zimbabwe has culminated in the government implementing state-directed internet shutdowns (Madenga, 2021; Mare, 2020) and extensive digital surveillance (Munoriyarwa, 2022). Elsewhere, governments such as those in China, Russia, Egypt, and Ethiopia have also resorted to various forms of internet censorship apart from a total or partial internet shutdown in the face of protests mobilised and coordinated through social media (Ayalew, 2019; Gerbaudo, 2013; Wu, 2018).…”