…………………………………………………………………... UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL …………………………………………………………………… #Democracy: A case study of social media use amongst members of the public sphere during the 2014 South African general election. By Rasvanth Chunylall 209514079 A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of M-ART (Master of Arts) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Arts College of Humanities Supervisor: Professor J.P. Wade May 2016 Declaration I ................................................................................................... declare that: (i) The research reported in this dissertation, except where otherwise indicated, is my original work. (ii) This dissertation has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. (iii) This dissertation does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. (iv) This dissertation does not contain other persons’ writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a) their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced; b) where their exact words have been used, their writing has been placed inside quotation marks, and referenced. (v) Where I have reproduced a publication of which I am an author, co-author or editor, I have indicated in detail which part of the publication was actually written by myself alone and have fully referenced such publications. (vi) This dissertation does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the dissertation and in the References sections. Signed: .................................................................. Date: ……………………………………………… i Acknowledgments Many of the tweets and Facebook posts in this dissertation were posted and digested in seconds. But, this study took months of hard (but rewarding) effort to finish. I owe its completion to the support, guidance and patience of the following people: . Prof. Jean-Philippe Wade, my supervisor, has been a constant source of academic wisdom, enthusiasm and moral support. Despite his professional and personal commitments, he has made every effort to ensure I received assistance – even after hours. I attribute the quality of this dissertation to his superior insight and attention to detail. One could not have been blessed with a better supervisor. My family who provided me with emotional and financial support during the time it has taken to complete this dissertation. I am inspired by my mother’s (Ishara) conscientiousness, my brother’s (Keshav) ambition and my sister’s (Nitasha) resilience. I am sincerely grateful to Jon, who has provided me with a home close to campus, and lent a sympathetic ear during the more frustrating times of dissertation writing. I promise to buy you another one. Belinda Johnson, from the School of Politics, who affirmed the viability of my dissertation and provided me with excellent tips and material on the public sphere. The academic staff in the Media and Cultural Studies department at UKZN who provided me with advice and encouragement. This dissertation is dedicated to South Africa’s social media population. Through my time spent with you I have realised the power and importance of a shared tweet, post, and like. ii Abstract At present social media is used by 28% of the world’s population. The use has naturally penetrated the political sphere where social media presence in election periods is a global growing phenomenon. However, limited research has been conducted examining political social media use in South Africa despite calls for social media research in developing contexts and the pervasiveness of social media use amongst the country’s netizens. In addressing this the dissertation defines the uses of social media during election periods and illustrates how social media was used during the 2014 South African general election. Finally, the study also determines whether social media contributed to the democracy of the country. The researcher used Jϋrgen Habermas’s theory of the public sphere as the theoretical underpinning of the study. An exploratory case study method was employed as the main research method with web archiving, a thematic analysis of Twitter trends and observation adopted as sub-methods. Research was limited to the most popular social media sites in the country: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Mxit. The findings demonstrate that social media was used by the country’s public, the traditional mass media, politicians and political parties, civil society actors and the IEC as part of their undertakings during the election period. The study also found that during the election period an online public sphere was realised in the country and, as a result, facilitated the creation of public opinion by creating communication channels between the electorate and other electoral actors. The dialogues that took place online showed signs of deliberation and was given consideration by the relevant authorities. Finally, the online public sphere regulated the state by enlightening them on public concerns and holding them accountable for their actions. Keywords social media; social networking; case study; public sphere; democracy, election; South Africa iii Table of Contents Contts Chapter 1: Introduction and Orientation ................................................................................ 1 1.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Objective of Study ........................................................................................................... 2 1.3. Nature of Study ................................................................................................................ 2 1.4. Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 3 1.5. Research Methods .......................................................................................................... 3 1.6. Limitations of Study ......................................................................................................... 3 1.7. Importance of Study ........................................................................................................ 4 1.8. Chapter Outline ............................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................................................................................... 6 2.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Social Media Research in South Africa ............................................................................ 6 2.3. Growing Prominence around the World ........................................................................... 8 2.4. The Role of Social Media During Elections ...................................................................... 9 2.4.1. Politicians and Campaigning ..................................................................................... 9 2.4.1.1. The Appeal of Social Media Platforms for Politicians .......................................... 9 2.4.1.2. Communication ..................................................................................................10 2.4.1.3. Political Branding ...............................................................................................11 2.4.1.4. Targeting Fringe Markets and the Youth ............................................................11 2.4.1.5. Fundraising ........................................................................................................12 2.4.1.6. Smear Campaigns .............................................................................................12 2.4.2. Electorate .................................................................................................................12 2.4.2.1. Access to Information ........................................................................................12 2.4.2.2. Communication ..................................................................................................13 2.4.2.3. Political Expression ............................................................................................13 2.4.2.4. Watchdog Role ..................................................................................................14 2.4.2.5. Citizen Journalism .............................................................................................14 2.4.2.6. Youth Engagement ............................................................................................15 2.4.3. Traditional Mass Media ............................................................................................15 2.4.4. Electoral Commissions .............................................................................................16 2.5. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................17 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework - The Public Sphere .......................................................18 3.1. Introduction .....................................................................................................................18