KAVISHA PILLAY: Subverting truth for power

Democracy is no longer only dismantled in corporate back rooms or through coups — it can now be eroded in plain sight, one viral post at a time.

The 2024 SA elections were a glaring example of how truth and information, a cornerstone of democracy, are now a casualty of the digital age. This is not just a South African problem — it’s a global crisis where tech giants profit, politicians manipulate and citizens pay the price.

Across the globe political leaders have mastered the art of weaponising falsehoods, to reshape reality, undermine democratic institutions and entrench power.

From the far right in France to Narendra Modi’s India, Donald Trump’s America and now SA’s MK party, the playbook is consistent — create chaos, erode trust and cast yourself as the saviour of the marginalised and poor amid the rubble.

The power of big lies

The 2024 SA elections showcased a disturbing political tactic that is becoming a hallmark of global populist movements: the calculated use of disinformation to fracture trust in democratic institutions. Spearheaded by former president Jacob Zuma and his MK party, this strategy wasn’t merely about contesting election results — it was about rewriting the rules of democratic engagement. 

In the lead-up to the elections, MK waged an aggressive campaign to delegitimise the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC). Platforms such as X.com were flooded with posts accusing the IEC of “bias,” “rigging” and being “compromised”.

Further conspiracies were amplified that painted the IEC as a puppet of foreign interests and the ANC. At a rally in March Zuma fanned the flames, claiming knowledge of a plot to steal votes during the special voting period, alleging that “healthy people” were fraudulently voting under the guise of assisting the unwell. 

The disinformation campaign escalated, with targeted attacks on IEC officials. Commissioner Janet Love was accused of being a corrupt ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa, and even of being implicated in alleged electoral meddling in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, called for Love’s arrest, despite the complete absence of credible evidence.

These falsehoods spread like wildfire on social media, with posts accusing the IEC of colluding to rig results in favour of the ANC and DA. Even after the Constitutional Court dismissed the MK party’s claims of “hundreds of thousands of stolen votes” as baseless, the damage to public trust was already done. 

This isn’t Zuma’s first foray into the politics of deception. His political history is littered with the wreckage of truth, from the Bell Pottinger campaign that emphasised and scaled up narratives such as “white monopoly capital” and “radical economic transformation”, to the fabricated stories in major newspapers aimed at discrediting public servants.

In July 2021, after his imprisonment for contempt of court, Zuma’s allies used social media to stoke violence that resulted in hundreds of deaths. Each of these incidents illustrates a pattern: deploying Big Lies to deflect accountability and maintain influence and power. 

The deliberate spread of Big Lies is corrosive. It erodes public trust in democratic institutions such as the IEC, judiciary and media. It polarises society, creating factions that are more loyal to personalities than to principles of constitutional governance. Most dangerously, it constructs an alternate reality where facts are malleable and accountability is dismissed as a conspiracy. 

Holding Big Tech accountable

Social media companies have become the architects of the modern information ecosystem, wielding unprecedented power over what billions of people see, believe and act upon. Their algorithms, designed to maximise engagement and profits, often prioritise sensational, divisive and misleading content, allowing disinformation to spread unchecked.

Platforms including X.com (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and TikTok have effectively turned into breeding grounds for disinformation campaigns that erode trust in democratic institutions and polarise societies.

Despite their immense influence, these companies have largely evaded meaningful accountability, cloaking their inaction in rhetoric about “free speech”. This abdication of responsibility enables political actors to exploit their platforms to manipulate voters and undermine democracy. 

The ultimate accountability lies with social media companies because they control the infrastructure that amplifies disinformation. They have the resources, data and technology to intervene but consistently choose not to, prioritising profit and now political influence over public good.

This laissez-faire approach perpetuates a digital ecosystem where lies are rewarded and outrage is monetised. Holding these companies accountable means enforcing transparency in their algorithms, ad targeting and moderation policies, especially during critical periods like elections.

It also requires governments to impose strict regulations that compel platforms to act decisively against harmful content. Social media is no longer a neutral space — it is a key battleground for democracy. Until these companies are held to account, the integrity of our political systems — and democracy itself — will remain at their mercy. 

While Trump may have been declared the winner of the 2024 US election, the real victors were tech bros like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who will continue to thrive under minimal regulations and unchecked power. This reality is deeply concerning, as it underscores the influence of Big Tech in shaping not just economies but democracies.

In the absence of meaningful regulatory controls in the US, where many of these social media companies are based, SA legislators, civil society and other stakeholders must take the lead in addressing the unchecked power of Big Tech. 

• Regulation — the SA government must develop regulations that will enforce transparency in digital advertising and hold tech companies accountable for their algorithms that profit on the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
• Digital literacy — all users of digital platforms should be empowered to critically evaluate the information that they receive and consume. This requires integrating media and digital literacy into education systems, such as life skills orientation, and public awareness campaigns.
• Platform accountability — platforms such as X.com that refuse to participate in interventions aimed at curbing disinformation during elections should be declared high risk, a public threat and dangerous.
• Progressive legislation — the era of voluntary frameworks and self-regulation is over. Robust laws must be enacted to sanction those who create dangerous disinformation while still safeguarding the constitutional right to freedom of speech, and in particular political speech.

We must confront the reality that the digital age has outpaced democracy’s defences. The stakes couldn’t be higher. If we fail to defend truth we surrender not just elections but the very foundations of democratic governance. SA’s experience is a warning — and a call to action. 

• Pillay is founding director of the Campaign On Digital Ethics.