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This paper investigates political content creation by popular male podcasters in the run-up to the South African national elections in 2024. It aims to contribute to the nascent debate on "populist influencers" and social media’s complex role in shaping politics in Africa.

Paper long abstract:

Whilst the South African political podcaster landscape is diverse, it is conspicuously male dominated. The so-called "pod-bros”, which often have tens of thousands of followers, range from alt-right, libertarian whites that push the “CapeXit” narrative to black conservatives that demonize critical race theory and self-styled “self-made”-men that give business advice to a primarily young, urban and male audience. A common denominator is an anti-mainstream-media narrative and little regard for fact-checking. However, their platforms also differ significantly, e.g. in the degree of sophistication of production, topic range as well as sources of finance.

In this article, I empirically investigate this hitherto understudied group of political content creators, starting with a mapping of their various entanglements, topics discussed as well as their financial and political affiliations. I then take a deep-dive into selected podcast episodes of four of these pod-bros leading up to the South African national elections by making use of qualitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis.

This article aims to contribute to the nascent debate on populist influencers and social media’s complex role in shaping politics in Africa, in particular in South Africa where 22 of its approximately 60 million inhabitants are social media users. Whilst investigations into the link between social media and populism have slowly increased for South Africa (see e.g. Beresford et al., 2023) and isolated academic analyses of (brand) influencers exist (Iqani, 2019), the triangular connection between these topics has not yet been empirically or theoretically investigated.

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Unser Beitrag fragt nach der Rolle von Influencern in Sozialnetzwerken für die afrikanische Jugend in einem globalisierten Kontext. Dabei soll untersucht werden, ob die Influencer von Politikern manipuliert werden, um die Bevölkerung von den gesellschaftlichen Problemen abzulenken.

Paper long abstract:

Der Computerboom und die damit verbundenen Smartgeräte bieten heute vielfältige Kommunikationsmöglichkeiten. Dank der vernetzten Geräte kann man den Nachrichten aus aller Welt in Echtzeit folgen. Die sozialen Netzwerke werden heute von fast allen benutzt, um einen größeren Teil der Gesellschaft zu erreichen. Man spricht mittlerweile von Influencern, die - zu Recht oder zu Unrecht - glauben, das Verhalten der Bevölkerung und die Entscheidungen von Führungskräften "beeinflussen" zu können. Haben diese sogenannten Influencer tatsächlich Einfluss auf die Jugend von heute, insbesondere auf die afrikanische Jugend? Handelt es sich nicht um Manipulatoren, die von den afrikanischen Regierungen unterstützt werden, um die Jugend von den wahren Realitäten, d. h. den wahren wirtschaftlichen Schwierigkeiten, abzulenken? In der Côte d'Ivoire und in mehreren afrikanischen Hauptstädten ist festzustellen, dass es systematisch Buzz von Influencern gibt, wenn ein ernstes politisches Problem, das die Machthaber betrifft, öffentlich gemacht wird. Es handelt sich dabei um ein Ablenkungsmanöver, das kritische Geister von den wahren Realitäten in den afrikanischen Gesellschaften ablenken soll. Außerdem ist zu beachten, dass die sozialen Netzwerke das Informationssystem in den afrikanischen Gesellschaften grundlegend umgestalten, da die hohe Analphabetenrate Zugang zu Informationen außerhalb der traditionellen Kanäle hat, die bislang die Informationsauswahl eingeschränkt haben. Ziel unseres Beitrags wird es sein, zu diskutieren, wie sich der Diskurs der Influencer heute tatsächlich auf die afrikanische Jugend auswirkt.

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This paper looks at the rise of populism in social media platforms and the impact it has on social cohesion within the African continent. The paper will also explore ways through which some of the negative results can be mitigated, taking lessons from other countries and continents.

Paper long abstract:

Africa has a majority youth population that is looking to be engaged productively, this population is always on the lookout for new opportunities. Online media has been embraced as entertainment and a source of information, including news. Social media has become a double edged sword, the news online is shaped by people’s opinions as opposed to people’s opinions being the ones being shaped by the news. The result is rising to populism online, information and news have become a commodity that is framed by social and political commentators to attract and retain an audience. Most of the accounts are conceived as a commercial ventures from the start.

Social media have increasingly come into focus as having a negative impact on social cohesion by creating “filter bubbles” and “echo chambers” that magnifies existing biases. There has also been the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories and incivility in public discourse. These populist attitudes go hand in hand with identity politics and does not accommodate differing views, which usually breeds divisions within society.

This paper looks at the rise of populism in social media platforms and the impact it has on social cohesion within the African continent. The paper will also explore ways through which some of the negative results can be mitigated, taking lessons from other countries and continents. This is with the view to protect communal bonds, shared norms and values that a critical to building a prosperous society.

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Amidst military coups and attempted counter-coups, Burkina Faso's social media landscape has become a key site of polarization and spectacular information leaks. This paper traces these new dynamics in line with A. Mbembe's "society of enmity" (2016) and contemporary debates on conspiracy theories.

Paper long abstract:

The “desire for an enemy,” writes Achille Mbembe (2016:26), has become the sine qua non of our “eminently political epoch” and its “dominant affective tonality.” Threats appear everywhere and privilege “a logic of suspicion where everything must be seen as secret or as belonging to a plot or conspiracy” (ibid.). A particularly dramatic manifestation of such a politics of suspicion unfolds in contemporary Burkina Faso. On top of the Sahel’s regional crisis of banditry and Islamic terrorism, and amidst numerous successful, attempted and alleged coups, new dynamics of polarization have emerged, opposing especially the MPSR2 military government’s supporters and critics. While people on the streets of the capital Ouagadougou have become increasingly careful what to say in the presence of whom, Burkinabè social media is replete with allegations, information leaks, propaganda and hate speech against internal and external “enemies” from either side. In this paper, I focus on the Facebook accounts of Ibrahima Maïga, Henri Sebgo, and Anonymous Élite Alpha as the theatrical stages of this contemporary political conflict. Based on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork in 2023 and 2024, I focus on two key characteristics of such political conflict: the significance of information leaks as a political instrument and the uncertainty of who is who as a defining parameter of blurred spaces between real and virtual politics. The empirical observations are theorized in line with Achille Mbembe’s “society of enmity” (2016) and contemporary debates about fake news and conspiracy theories in the global north.

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In 2015, John Magufuli became the President of Tanzania. His rule, essentially exhibited populism marked by a strong personalist leadership style, decisionism, anti-elite, anti-political, and anti-foreign finance capital. The outcome of his populism was power centralization and authoritarianism.

Paper long abstract:

In 2015, John Magufuli became the fifth President of the United Republic of Tanzania. Like many other populists, his rule, which ended in 2021 following his sudden death, essentially exhibited a strong personalist leadership style, decisionism, anti-party, anti-elite, anti-establishment, anti-political, anti-foreign finance capital, and big corporations. Magufuli presented himself as "a man of the people,” especially those with low incomes. The outcome of his populism was power centralization and authoritarianism. The democratic project was brought to a standstill, marked by shrinking political space through undermining media, restricting freedom of speech and assembly, banning political parties' rallies, and constraining civil society. In the 2020 elections, the share of popular votes by the Magufuli's regime reached a climax after obtaining 84 per cent of the popular votes and 96 per cent of parliamentary seats. The Freedom in the World 2022 Report while recording the backsliding of democracy worldwide for seventeen years consecutively, it ranks Tanzania as a partly free society in which civil liberties and political rights are constrained. This paper aims to systematically examine the Magufuli's populist strategies and how they aided democratic backsliding.

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This paper examines political populist discourses and their media responses. It is a case study of contested space in Namibia’s democratic society. The focus is on the interaction between political rhetoric and civil society responses during 2024, in the build-up to national elections in November.

Paper long abstract:

Namibia is a democratic state and society based on a normative constitutional framework enshrining fundamental civil liberties. Freedom of speech and media freedom are elements of a vibrant public discourse in a multi-party democracy with regular elections being largely free and fair. This allows for uncensored political competition which utilizes also populist rhetoric, both by the so far dominant former liberation movement SWAPO - since Independence the political party in government - and several other political parties. It allows also civil society to openly comment and criticise.

The social cohesion during the 33 years of a sovereign state has been tested by an increasingly autocratic execution of political power facing growing opposition and – as indicated in the last national and regional elections in 2019 and 2020 respectively – a gradual loss of support of the dominant SWAPO by the electorate. This has in the build-up for the National Assembly and Presidential elections in November 2024 fostered a noticeable populist trend in policy statements by several parties. These are a matter of debate also in the media, in particular the independent press.

This paper will analyse recent developments in political culture to assess the precarious balance between party political campaigns and the role of media.

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This paper will explore how the ANC and the principal parties of opposition campaigned in the 2024 general election in South Africa and argue the limits of populist appeal

Paper long abstract:

Thirty years into democracy, South Africa is experiencing an extended crisis of governance and economy. This has led to predictions that the ruling African National Congress will lose its popular majority in the forthcoming general elections in May (?) 2024. This paper will explore how the ANC and the principal parties of opposition campaigned in the election, and how they sought to appeal to the electorate. Attention will be focused on the rhetoric and style of the campaigns of the ANC and its four major challengers: the Democratic Alliance, the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Inkatha Freedom Party, and how they tailored their messages to different segments of the population – by race, class, and region. The suggestion in advance that the ANC will stress its credentials as the embodiment of the popular will and as the vanguard of the struggle against apartheid. Correspondingly, the role of the opposition is to reverse the verdict of history. In contrast, the opposition parties will argue the decay of the ANC, its betrayal of the legacy of Mandela, its extensive involvement in corruption, and its inability to reform. However, drawing upon analysis to be provided by the latest in the series of books on South African elections co-edited by the author, it will be argued that populist campaigning in contemporary South Africa will come up against serious limits among an electorate among which large numbers are unemployed, most are poor and ever increasing proportion are young for whom appeals to history have limited resonance

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This study compares pre- and post-coup polarization in Mali and Burkina Faso. Using Afrobarometer data, it studies societal divisions in government performance perceptions and examines to what extent media consumption, identity, and material inequality drive polarization in both periods.

Paper long abstract:

The recent coups in Mali and Burkina Faso abruptly ended the two countries’ democratization periods, reinstating military rule. Surprisingly, both events were marked by demonstrations in favor of the military takeover, hinting at significant public support, possibly mobilized by misinformation campaigns on social media. Utilizing pre- and post-coup Afrobarometer survey data, this paper delves into the reasons for this support and assesses the coups’ impact on political polarization. The analysis begins by highlighting societal divisions based on perceptions of government performance. This involves identifying respondents with conspicuously positive or negative performance evaluations to quantify the degree of polarization before and after the coup. Following this, I use regression analysis to contrast different theoretical explanations for the gap between pro- and anti-government communities. Specifically, I test the impact of media consumption (including social media), identity, and material inequality to identify the sources of polarization and shifts in political alignments following the coups. The design promises valuable insights into how coups affect social cohesion and the role of social media in rallying support for emerging authoritarian regimes.

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This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on race, culture, and social media, providing a nuanced understanding of the intersections between African performativities and Black privilege in the digital age.

Paper long abstract:

The proposed paper explores how emergent African (diaspora) influencers utilize social media platforms to challenge Western narratives and assert their cultural identities. It interrogates how African interventions presently shape and influence popular culture by challenging traditional Western narratives, offering new perspectives of Africa(ns) and disrupting normative understandings of race, identity, and culture. Through a detailed analysis of the acts of purposively selected online artists (with social media handles, @maximbabytouray, @alwayspilipili2, and @napiofficial27), this study uncovers how they leverage their platforms to promote African performativities and assert Black privilege. It further investigates how their interventions in popular culture serve as a form of activism, contributing to a broader discourse on race, identity, and culture in the digital age. The paper argues that African performativities on social media not only highlight the dynamism of African cultures but also underscore an emergent Black privilege and its potential and capacity to redefine cultural norms and values in the West. The findings of this research offer valuable insights into the dynamics of cultural exchange, representation and populism on social media, highlighting the transformative potential of digital platforms in amplifying marginalized voices and fostering cultural understanding and social cohesion. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the role of social media in shaping contemporary cultural landscapes and the power dynamics inherent in these digital spaces.

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Institutionalized performance storytelling at Cape Coast Castle and Robben Island invites the visitor to participate in the production of history in ways that reminds the visitors that history is neither neutral or past, but actively produced sometimes in physical participation and engagement.

Paper long abstract:

Heritage sites like Robben Island, the slave forts along the coast of West Africa provide rich examples of Institutionalised Storytelling Performance (ISP) that combines African orality with the promise of new relationship to history. The storytelling at the Cape Castle fort in Cape Coast, Ghana and Robben Island in Cape Town produces a history that is as fluid as it is flexible to cater to the demands of the global visitor and the “globalized” local. At these sites, the interaction between the wieldy narratives of the guides and the ritualized acts of remembrance by the visitors when they choose to participate create a dense area of engagement. What is worth examining about the performance of history and its oral narrativity at these sites is the flexibility of the performances and its subjection to the needs of the visitor. Stories told at Robben Island, where former inmates at the prison act as guides, resemble testimony that was heard at the TRC hearings. Whereas the storytelling by the guides at Cape Castle for instance, resembles modes of heritage narratives often encountered in popular culture. The point of the storytelling is not to extract a past long forgotten, the encouragement to “experience” history at these heritage sites are tied to exigencies of the present. This paper discusses the performance of history at the Cape Coast Castle in Cape Coast, and Robben Island near Cape Town as disruptions of colonial forms of knowledge production and a turn toward indigenous ways of doing history.

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By uncovering various representations of Pan-Africanism in education that are influenced by social class, this study contributes insights into the intersection of social cohesion and populism in South Africa and emphasises the role of education in shaping inclusive narratives.

Paper long abstract:

In response to the challenges posed by populism to democratic ideals, this interdisciplinary study critically examines the representation of Pan-Africanism in South African high school history classrooms within the context of South African exceptionalism and Afrophobia. The study delves into the role of history education as a social agency in shaping national identity for social cohesion, particularly in the post-apartheid South African landscape.

Employing a qualitative empirical method, this research aims to shed light on the intricate dynamics of forming malleable political and social identities in classrooms. Focusing on the embedding of key Pan-Africanism ideas and concepts among learners, the study utilizes reflexive thematic analysis based on interviews with teachers from urban schools. The research explores the educators' role as social and political agents and investigates learners' contemporary understanding of Pan-Africanism.

The findings reveal significant variations in the representation of Pan-Africanism in classrooms, influenced by factors such as teachers' education, social class, experiences of apartheid, resource utilization, and language barriers. Notably, the study highlights a gap in learners' comprehension of core Pan-African concepts, emphasizing the impact of 'class' in terms of resource access and digitization, influencing students' perceptions of 'African-ness' even within ethnically homogeneous communities.

This research offers insights into how the teaching of Pan-Africanism intersects with social cohesion and populism in the African context. By analyzing the complexities within classrooms, it aims to enhance the understanding of the potential of history education to either reinforce or challenge prevailing socio-political narratives, ultimately influencing the formation of inclusive and resilient collectives.