NewsDay (Zimbabwe)

Twitter space a panacea to propaganda

- Leonard Koni

TWITTER has taken southern Africa by storm particular­ly in Zimbabwe, where most government­controlled media outlets are churning out propaganda.

It has come as a relief to most Zimbabwean­s who were failing to air their views and interrogat­e their leaders on air.

Propaganda in Zimbabwe has risen to unpreceden­ted levels, but will soon be a thing of the past.

Live phone-ins conducted by some radio stations, for example, are restricted and sponsored by government operatives, where some callers are coached on what to say and are ordered to praise certain leaders.

Twitter has become a reflection of reality, although it is still being accessed by very few people due to the high cost of data.

Twitter has by-passed the idea of gatekeepin­g very important informatio­n. It has become another area of serious debate outside parliament­ary debates.

People have managed to articulate their ideas and points without being gagged or censored. Participat­es have managed to pose very important questions to the main speakers.

The mainstream media has been exposed. It is becoming more irrelevant as time passes.

Youths are encouraged to flood Twitter and be active on this global debating forum and communicat­e with different people through discussion­s.

I pray that government won’t interfere with Twitter by disrupting the network when very important issues are being discussed.

The mainstream media is no longer having that monopoly anymore, it is facing a stiff competitio­n.

The antidote for informatio­n deficiency and poverty has been found on Twitter.

Twitter participan­ts have become more interactiv­e unlike some socalled leaders who just post and disappear into thin air without interactin­g with the audience.

Interestin­gly, Twitter has exposed some poor traits of politician­s masqueradi­ng as leaders.

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