Partial, falsified and adverse print media reporting: studying 2015 xenophobic violence

ABSTRACT

South Africa in the 21^st century has experienced a limping economy characterised by poor governance, corruption, massive unemployment, high cost of living and unhealthy competition to access limited economic resources for both locals and the millions of foreign nationals. During the period between 2008 and 2015, the country has experienced xenophobic attacks and perpetual factional fights between the locals and the foreign nationals. The country’s government linked the events to criminality and a ‘third force’ when dealing and disseminating information to the media. The xenophobic attacks have in most cases occurred before or during election periods with politicians and print media reporters opting for the populist and rhetoric route of characterising foreigners as a scapegoat to challenges facing the local population which is central to social ills and economic hardships. In the last decade, the country’s print media have been filled with stories that were anti-immigration and xenophobic which have resulted in the exacerbation of attacks by Black South Africans against immigrants of African origin. This paper draws viewpoints from government agencies and media reporters on how the print media narrated the xenophobic attacks of 2015 in South Africa.

KEYWORDS:

• Content analysis
• inflammatory statements
• media platforms
• South African police service
• social media platforms

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) [TTK160527166475].

Notes on contributors

Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu

Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu is Head of Public Management and Leadership at Nelson Mandela University, South Africa. He has a vast experience in universities as a manager, consultant and an academic where he has taught and published a number of empirical studies in different disciplines.

Evangelos Mantzaris

Evangelos Mantzaris is a Retired Professor at the Mangosuthu University of Technology, South Africa. He is also a Senior Researcher and Extraordinary Professor at the Anti-Corruption Centre for Education and Research at the University of Stellenbosch.