Social media has become the favourite platform for anti-establishment messages by politicians and other influencers. From Donald Trump to anti-immigrant Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders, French presidential candidate Marine le Pen and, closer to home, Julius Malema, these politicians dominate the online discourse with anti-establishment messages, exposing the "corrupt" elite and purporting to represent the will of the people. More recently, the phenomenon has also infiltrated the world of finance. SA has seen a number of short sellers emerging from the shadows to dominate the discourse online, with the stated aim of seeking to expose nefarious corporate practices. Viceroy, which used to be the ultimate "faux" French aperitif, has entered the popular lexicon as the ultimate corporate slayer after releasing a report online just as Deloitte balked at giving a clean audit report to Steinhoff. If the annual analyst awards had been held at the end of December, Viceroy would have m...
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