Amid concerns about human trafficking in South Africa, citizens used social media to protest against individuals perceived to be fuelling such practices.
These interventions were driven by a variety of impulses. These ranged from apparently genuine concerns to potential misinformation.
The iLAB analysed tweets under the hashtags
#HumanTrafficking and #PutSouthAfricansFirst.
We observed sporadic spikes of the tweets under the hashtags on 21 and 27 September 2020.
The analysis also revealed two key themes originating from the conversations on social media;
- Hotspot locations vs ‘fake news’ narrative; and
- Xenophobic-centred conversations.
