The Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC) has revealed that the online conversation about former Miss SA contestant Chidimma Adetshina’s citizenship and subsequent participation in the pageant was among the main topics of interest in July.
The CABC isolated and analysed the conversations about immigrants in its report, Monthly Social Listening Updates & Recommendations, for online conversations about immigrants in South Africa.
According to the report, the main debate within this conversation was whether Adetshina, who is now a Miss Universe Nigeria contestant, initially reported to having a Nigerian father and a South African mother, was eligible to participate in the contest.
This sparked a social media divide, with some calling for her disqualification based on what they call “national pride” and “cultural identity”, while others condemned the online attacks on Adetshina, arguing that they were Afrophobic or xenophobic.
Having commanded attention on social media, Adetshina’s status led to a probe by the Department of Home Affairs, which found that fraud and identity theft may have been committed by the person recorded in Home Affairs records as Adetshina’s mother.
The department urged the public and media to allow it space to conclude its investigation. It also underlined that, “Adetshina could not have participated in the alleged unlawful actions of her mother, as she was an infant at the time when the activities took place in 2001.
“Our team is hard at work to establish the full set of facts and committed to communicating those facts in a transparent manner at the appropriate time.”
Adetshina ultimately withdrew her participation from the pageant and shared a statement on Instagram.
“After much careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw myself from the competition for the safety and wellbeing of my family and me. With the full support of the Miss South Africa Organisation, I leave with a heart full of gratitude for this amazing experience.”
The CABC report revealed trending hashtags within the overall conversation which included:
#putsouthafricansfirst: Individuals using this hashtag called for South Africans to be prioritised in employment. Stereotypes that immigrants were perpetrators of crime were also shared by some individuals using this hashtag.
#operationdudula: Proponents of the anti-immigrant conversation used this hashtag to call for the deportation of immigrants while advocating for job prioritisation for South African citizens. Some individuals used #operationdudula and #putsouthafricafirst concurrently in their posts.
#onsbaizanie: Ons Baiza Nie is the strapline of the Patriotic Alliance. The party welcomed Gayton McKenzie’s appointment as the new Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture. The @OnsBaizaNie and @GaytonMcK accounts were the most mentioned during the research period.
The researchers also discovered that a few anonymous identities who contributed heavily on X were primarily driving the discussion.
The Star