Between citizen and vigilante journalism

Abstract

New forms of online citizen journalism have refreshed political communication in Africa. Newinformation technologies are providing readers with previously unavailable opportunities tocomment and produce their own news and information that is able to influence political processes.However, all is not rosy about Africa’s new citizen journalism. While it has produced reliable andquality information that African democracies require, it has also produced vigilante journalism - avindictive and revengeful form of gathering and disseminating news and information. Vigilantejournalism is similar to the necklacing that was common in South African in the 1980s. The articlediscusses how, at the height of the Zimbabwe crisis (2007-2008), the news website, ZimDaily, leda vigilante campaign to publicly name and have perceived relatives and children of Zimbabweanruling party officials deported from ‘Western’ countries. The idea was to help resolve the politicaland economic crises in Zimbabwe. The editors refused to question the ethics and morality ofthe exercise. Thus, encouraged by the website’s editors, Zimbabwean users of the website tookthe law in their own hands and published addresses, telephone numbers and other personalinformation about anyone thought to be related to those in government in Zimbabwe. This blurredthe boundaries between citizen and vigilante journalism. The resultant vigilante journalism bygroups seeking instant justice was in a way similar to the necklacing, even though this was in avirtual sense. It is clear that the emerging new media spaces in Africa function like double-edgedswords able to either build or destroy democracy.