AmaBhungane exposé suggests ActionSA complicity in xenophobic disinformation campaign
29 April 2022
Note to Editors: Please find an attached soundbite by Angel Khanyile MP
The DA is alarmed, but not surprised, by the findings of a detailed amaBhungane analysis released today, which suggests that ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has played a key role fanning the flames of xenophobia that could result in another bout of widespread public violence. In fact, the amaBhugane analysis closely echoes the warning issued by the DA earlier this month that “if South Africa descends into xenophobic violence, it will be disproportionately due to the actions of a few political actors.”
Primary among these actors is Herman Mashaba.
Despite weak attempted denials from ActionSA, the amaBhungane analysis strongly suggests that the party is a driving force behind a disinformation campaign built around the hashtag #PutSouthAfricansFirst. In what could be the biggest disinformation scandal since the GuptaBot saga perpetrated by Bell Pottinger, this campaign sees a combination of fake and real accounts creating “follower trains” that spread anti-foreigner propaganda on Twitter for political gain.