The Media Landscape of Zimbabwe
The media environment of Zimbabwe has been strictly controlled in the past by the government. With the removal of Robert Mugabe from power, gradual shifts towards greater freedom of expression are beginning to take place.
Major News Outlets
Outlet |
Medium |
Owner |
Background/History |
Print / Online |
Government of Zimbabwe through Zimbabwe Newspapers Ltd. |
The government bought The Herald from South African group Argus in 1981 after independence, often accused of supporting the government and demonising the opposition party |
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Print / Online |
Government of Zimbabwe through Zimbabwe Newspapers Ltd. |
Publishes along the ruling party’s line because of government control, focuses on the Matabeleland region |
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Print / Online |
Associated Newspapers Group |
Was critical of Mugabe’s government, was banned 2003-2010 and bombed (allegedly by the Zimbabwean government), is extremely popular |
|
Daily News Live |
TV |
Associated Newspapers Group |
24-hour news station based on the Daily News |
TV / Radio |
government of Zimbabwe |
Often accused of being government mouthpiece, formerly the Rhodesian Broadcasting corporation |
|
Print / Online |
unclear, in the past it was supported by donors mainly from the MDC (opposition party) |
Founded in 2005, according to The Zimbabwe All Media and Products Survey, thezimbabwean.co is the most popular website of all weekly newspapers in Zimbabwe. |
Notable Journalists
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Wilf Mbanga
Wilf Mbanga is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Zimbabwean, which is published weekly in London and Johannesburg. After being declared an “enemy of the people” for his critical coverage of Mugabe and the government, he lived in exile in the United Kingdom for 15 years. In September of 2018, he was finally able to return home. Sandra Nyaira Sandra Nyaira worked for the Daily News in the early 2000s. She was charged with defamation for her articles exposing corruption in Mugabe's government, and she attempted to sue then-Information Minister Jonathan Mayo as well as the government-run Herald for libel and defamation when they accused her of writing fake stories because they did not like her articles exposing corruption. She received a “Courage in Journalism” award in 2002, She was exiled by the Zimbabwe government as part of a crackdown on journalists to UK, but has since returned. Most recently, she has reported on serious issues like child pornography, which led to the accidental banning of her Facebook account, which mistook sources coming to her with information as the spread of child pornography. Davison Maruziva Davison Maruziva has worked for a number of papers throughout Zimbabwe, and has constantly pushed the government limits for fair and accurate reporting. During his time at The Chronicle he broke the Willogate scandal at the government's car assembly plant, which eventually led to the resignation of 5 government ministers in 1989. As editor of The Standard, he was arrested in 2008 for publishing an editorial by an opposition leader criticizing Mugabe and charged with "publishing false statements prejudicial to the state and contempt of court." |
Social Media Use
While Facebook and Twitter do exist in Zimbabwe (and stats for daily news publications are listed below), the most popular form of social media is WhatsApp. QuartzAfrica reported in 2017 that 44% of all mobile internet usage in Zimbabwe is through WhatsApp, compared to only 1% for Facebook.
Daily News Statistics
*numbers are current as of October 1, 2018. Sourced from social bankers.com and verified on Twitter and Facebook*
Daily News Statistics
*numbers are current as of October 1, 2018. Sourced from social bankers.com and verified on Twitter and Facebook*
Control of Information - Repression, Propaganda, and Corporate Influence
- Zimbabwean Journalists charged with insulting Mugabe -- March 2017
- The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that the News Day Editor Wisdom Mdzungairi and reporter Richard Chidza were arrested by the Zimbabwean police for publishing an article entitled "Mugabe in fresh health scare," which was viewed as an insult to Mugabe. CPJ notes that
- Internet Blackouts
- Under Mugabe, the government was known to enforce internet blackouts from time-to-time, especially around major events like elections or in cases of unrest. In 2016, for example, the government ordered WhatsApp blocked in response to protests about bad governance and the economy, according to Access Now.
- The Herald is continually criticized for operating as the government mouthpiece and supporting the ruling ZANU-PF party line rather than acting as a fair and critical watchdog, as its headlines tend to reflect the position of the party.
Fake News
- Accusations of fake news used by both sides during the elections over the summer
- A July report on Quartz covered fake news and harmful stories that were spread during the campaigning process prior to the July 2018 elections. Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp were all used to disseminate information harmful to candidates in both the ruling party, the ZANU-PF and the opposition party, the MDC Alliance. “MDC Alliance, led by Nelson Chamisa, has alleged president Emmerson Mnangagwa and the ruling Zanu PF party, will manipulate the election results by using a 'magical' ballot paper and ink which will turn Chamisa’s votes into votes for the current president. Meanwhile, a message has also been circulating on Twitter and WhatsApp, purportedly from one of Chamisa’s top advisors, advising voters should write CCC on the back of the ballot paper to ensure their votes do not shift to become Mnangagwa’s…. 'If voters scribble anything else outside of placing an X in the box of their preferred candidate, this would count as spoilt ballot papers and that is the motivation behind the disinformation and hoax messages,' said political analyst Moses Moyo.”
- Fake stories such as the ones above were used by both sides to discredit their opponents, but also undermine the integrity of the voting process, by calling into question the legitimacy of the election process or invalidating the votes of certain party supporters.
- Solving the fake news problem will be difficult because both sides have engaged in their own fair share of misrepresentation. For example, a story was circulated over WhatsAppFake that MDC alliance candidate Chamisa was injured in a car accident and was in critical condition. In response to this fake story, Chamisa accused the ZANU-PF of hiring "fake news mercenaries" to aid his campaign, but there was also no evidence ever reported to substantiate this claim. When he was pushed on the issue, asked if he though these alleged mercenaries were from Russia, he would only say, "Is that not the country we often hear about with things like this?"
- Echo Chamber Effect - May 31, 2018
- Newsday published an article talking about the global repercussions of fake news, as well as its explicit implications for Zimbabwe. The article expressed concern that the dissemination of fake news would be amplified by the fact that urban and rural youth in Zimbabwe primarily receive their news information through their phones and social media sites, which could exacerbate the creation of echo chamber effects. They note how quickly hashtags can spread through mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp and lead to the development of polarized, online bubbles full of fake news.
- Zimfact
- Zimfact is an independent, non-partisan fact-checking platform created under the umbrella of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) to serve a watchdog role. It is staffed by senior journalism professionals in Zimbabwe, and administratively managed by the VMCZ, Fojo Media of Sweden, and International Media Support from the EU. The latter two institutions providing funding support.
Satire
"Satire is booming after Robert Mugabe's fall" read one headline in The Economist in May 2018 following the coup that removed him from power. In the years of Mugabe's rule, criticizing or making fun of the government in a very public manner was an extremely risky behavior which could lead to punishment and imprisonment. Following his removal from power, however, The Economist reported on a surge of comedy that was finally unleashed and felt free to make fun of the current political situation.
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Magamba Network: Zambezi News
The Magamba Network was founded in 2007 to serve as a youth outlet for activism and free expression about the government. The network produces content on its various YouTube channels (because it was, of course, barred from being played on the television stations). Magamba Network states that its vision is "a democratic and just Zimbabwe" and that its mission is "to use creative forms of youth activism to open up democratic space in Zimbabwe." Both the network and its popular satirical news show, Zambezi News, have been recognized by the Freedom of Expression Awards in the UK. In an article for the Nieman Lab, Samm Farai Monro explains that they started in 2011 to produce weekly DVDs of the show, Zambezi News, which were distributed throughout the country. Over ten thousand a week were being given out. Later, Magamba Network switched to using satellite TV as well as Facebook and Youtube to spread their content, and they are currently watched by 2.2 million households. He sarcastically notes, “I’m sure you’re asking, how do you get away with this? I’d like to categorically state that in Zimbabwe, we have freedom of expression, we just don’t have freedom after expression.” On the left is their most popular show to date, "This is not a coup," which was filmed during the week that Mugabe lost power. Future projects include "a new Africa-wide satire show incorporating contributors from different African countries and our first animation series with a women-driven team and content." |
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"Operation Restore Regasi"
Also in the wake of the political turnover, the play "Operation Restore Regasi" by Charles Munganasa became hugely popular and had many sold out showings. The play is set in the Mugabes' mansion, following the final days of the former president's rule. Its name itself is a joke referring to an army commander's mispronunciation of the coup's actual codename "Operation Restore Legacy." The clip on the left is the South African Broadcasting Corporation's coverage of viewer reactions to the show, which were extremely positive. Daves Ghuza, who runs the Theatre in the Park program which hosted the show, noted that, "Maybe there is now more freedom of expression that is beginning to build up and we need to keep the momentum... We need to keep on pushing the boundaries before these guys in power start actually saying 'it's enough'." |
Additional Sources
"Sandra Nyaira." International Women's Media Foundation.
Waldahl, Ragnar. "Politics and Persuasion: Media Coverage of Zimbabwe's 2000 Election. Weaver Press. Vol 3.1. 2004.
ZimMediaReview. "After 15 years in exile, veteran journalist Wilf Mbanga, founder of Community Newspaper Group, Daily News & The Zimbabwean, returns to Zimbabwe today. In a statement, Mbanga said Mugabe’s departure had opened the way for him to return safely to the country of his birth." September 1, 2018, 11:23PM, Tweet.