Fact Check: Is Internet being throttled during Zimbabwe’s general elections? - ZimFact
Ngoni Mhuruyengwe
August 23, 2023
Claim: In a statement published on 22 August 2023, MISA Zimbabwe put out a statement announcing that the quality of Internet in Zimbabwe had been downgraded on the eve of elections. This throttling has affected the prominent Internet Service Providers in the country, Econet Wireless, Liquid telecoms, NetOne and TelOne.
Verdict: True
The Statement is based on findings from NetBlocks an organisation whose mandate is to monitor global internet connectivity speeds in real-time. The report showed that access to social media sites such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram had been throttled on the four Internet Service Providers.
Throttling is when your internet service provider, or ISP, slows down your internet speeds on purpose, limiting your bandwidth for certain websites.
What is the impact of Internet throttling?
Internet throttling denies Zimbabwean citizens access to the Internet as a platform for communication, restricts access to information and limits freedom of expression.
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