A recent Constitutional Court ruling on asylum applications has been at the center of a week-long anti-foreigner unrest in Durban, South Africa. The court's Scalabrini judgment, handed down on 7 July, stated that asylum seekers cannot be turned away at the door on procedural grounds, such as how they entered the country, before anyone hears their claim. However, a distorted version of the ruling has been spread online, fueling false claims about citizenship, grants, jobs, and voting.
An analysis of online posts on X and YouTube comments between 3 and 9 October revealed a significant increase in anti-foreigner sentiment. On 3 October, there were approximately 4,000 relevant posts on X, which grew to around 60,000 by 8 October. YouTube comments on relevant videos also increased from 39 to 2,440 over the same period, peaking on 8 October. The trigger for the unrest was the Department of Home Affairs' operational directive implementing the Scalabrini judgment.
The directive, which told refugee reception offices to resume accepting new applications and not to turn people away for unlawful entry, missing documents, or reporting late, was misinterpreted by many online. The first widely shared posts in opposition to the directive appeared on 3 October from Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, framing it as a United Nations-imposed registration of "illegal immigrants." The conversation around the issue was driven primarily by domestic actors, with the majority of posts authored by South African accounts.
The analysis of online posts revealed that the misinformation spread was not limited to a single claim, but rather a series of false claims. The disingenuous reframing of the Scalabrini judgment claimed that the ruling essentially grants citizenship to all asylum seekers. However, the misinformation focused on the knock-on effects of the misrepresentation of the ruling, such as asylum seekers supposedly having unfair access to grants and pensions, as well as distortions around jobs and labor law.
Claims about voting rights, particularly that asylum seekers might vote in the 4 November local elections, also spread online. A post claiming that "over 3 million" refugees and asylum seekers had applied for Sassa grants was reposted almost 5,000 times, despite having no source and being uncorroborated. The Department of Home Affairs explicitly refuted claims that asylum seekers automatically gain citizenship, calling claims of "blanket legalisation" "categorically false."
The accounts behind the spread of misinformation were identified as key influencers in the anti-foreigner movement. Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, a leader of the March and March movement, was found to have posted content that was reposted thousands of times. Other accounts, such as @Dzungie007 and Durban Network, also played a significant role in amplifying the misinformation. The prominence of paid mega influencers and high-scoring buzzer accounts suggests that the movement was amplified, even though it was homegrown.
The anti-foreigner movement, which began in April 2020, continues to have a significant presence in South Africa's national psyche. The recent events suggest that the movement's agenda continues to be amplified, with many accounts reposting content that fuels anti-foreigner sentiment. The issue has also been tied to electioneering, with some commentators noting that AI-generated images of DA ministers "welcoming asylum seekers" were circulating online.
Key points
- The Constitutional Court ruling on asylum applications was distorted online into false claims about citizenship, grants, jobs, and voting.
- The anti-foreigner unrest in Durban was fueled by misinformation spread primarily by domestic actors.
- The movement's agenda continues to be amplified by key influencers and paid mega influencers.
