Zimbabwe’s general media commentary space is a political battleground largely dominated by activists from the ruling ZANU-PF party and an opposition movement aligned to Nelson Chamisa, who contested the last presidential election in August 2023 under the banner of the now severely fractured Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).
Both ZANU-PF’s cyber warriors, commonly known as “Varakashi” — propaganda storm troopers — and “Nerorists”— coined from one of Chamisa’s nicknames, “Nero”, — were evidently more organised units during the August 2023 parliamentary, presidential and council polls.
The activists remain viciously engaged a year after the elections, routinely pushing their opposing narratives on social media platforms, tackling both small and big issues.
They are active on Facebook. X. Instagram. Tik Tok and WhatsApp platforms, where many Zimbabweans share information.
However, the keyboard warriors from both the ruling party and the opposition movement struggle for coherence when they are challenged on matters involving internal organisational fights mostly over leadership and political strategy.
ZimFact media literacy programmes have established that while there is deep suspicion over the credibility of information associated with some social media accounts, many people still share the content in their networks instead of cautiously holding it back as potentially “fake news”.
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