Online incivility, hate speech and political violence in Zambia: Examining the role of online political campaign messages

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of online incivility and political violence in Zambia. The study used the 2018 Chilanga Constituency by-election campaign messages and those of the 2019 Sesheke constituency to examine the problem. The study drew from the simulation effects (that communication with dissimilar others can encourage incivility and hate online) to assert that political elite campaign messages contribute to incivility/hate and subsequent violence during elections in Zambia. This assumption was tested using 5844 data points collected from various social media platforms owned or purported to be owned by either the Patriotic Front (PF) or the United Party for National Development (UPND) party. The findings support the paper’s hypotheses, and additional analyses suggest that men are more likely to practice incivility online than women. Second, findings suggest that while the PF party’s online platforms exhibit higher trends of partisanship, the UPND tend to privilege tribal affiliations.