In an effort to lure support, some political parties and leaders have, on occasion, even flouted the IEC's electoral code of conduct on ocial media to remain trending or to feature in online conversations. Frequently, they have not been held accountable or responsible for this, writes Ebrahim Fakir, Molebogeng Mokoka and Euston Witbooi.
With just over two weeks to go to the municipal elections, it appears that the overall mistrust of the Independent Electorial Commission (IEC) has declined when examining conversations on Twitter. Ebrahim Fakir, Molebogeng Mokoka and Euston Witbooi examined the conversations on the social media platform and look at some of the trends arising ahead of the elections.
As the municipal elections get closer, analysis of conversations on Twitter show that it is becoming more of a talking point, however probably not in the way parties would want. This week political parties trended on Twitter for all the wrong reasons, write Ebrahim Fakir and Molebogeng Mokoka.
As we head closer to the municipal elections expected to take place on 1 November, the trend of mis- and disinformation on social media is expected to grow as party and candidate campaigning intensifies, making it essential for voters to be able to separate fact from fiction, write Ebrahim Fakir and Molebogeng Mokoka.