Zwelinzima Vavi
@Zwelinzima1 • 609,653 subscribers
There can be no greater honour than to serve the working class. If you can't handle the truth don't follow me. Retweeting is not an endorsement
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The Politics of Fear Anyone listening to this gentleman without a critical mind can easily be driven into fear and anger, concluding that South Africa is on the verge of being taken over by foreign nationals. Much of the anger we are seeing today is fuelled by exactly this kind of misinformation. One confession though: Phakela Umthakathi is an extremely articulate and persuasive narrator - calm, confident and emotionally convincing. History has always produced figures capable of turning fear and frustration into compelling political messages that collapse under scrutiny. Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels is widely associated with the warning: “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.” Whether exact or paraphrased, the lesson remains relevant. Why Facts Matter That is why facts, critical thinking and political education matter. The evidence completely undermines the claim that South Africa has anything close to 30 million migrants. According to Stats SA’s Census 2022, South Africa had approximately 2.4 million immigrants, representing about 3.9% of the population. Later Stats SA estimates place the figure just above 3 million, while the World Bank estimates around 2.6 million. No credible institution — not Stats SA, the IEC, the UN or the World Bank — has produced figures remotely close to 30 million migrants. In fact, 30 million migrants would mean migrants make up almost half of South Africa’s entire population of roughly 63 million people. Such a demographic reality would be impossible to hide and would overwhelmingly reflect in every school, clinic, workplace, settlement, municipality, census and election statistic in the country. The Election Numbers Now compare this with actual IEC election figures. Since the first democratic elections in 1994, total votes cast nationally have never reached 20 million: • 1994: approximately 19.7 million votes cast • 1999: approximately 16.2 million • 2004: approximately 15.9 million • 2009: approximately 17.9 million • 2014: approximately 18.4 million • 2019: approximately 17.7 million • 2024: approximately 16.3 million valid votes cast nationally The ANC itself dropped from around 10 million votes in 2019 to 6.46 million in 2024 after losing millions of supporters. Even basic mathematics does not support the hysteria being spread online. How Misinformation Spreads This is how misinformation spreads in the age of TikTok and social media: emotional slogans travel faster than facts, and anger spreads faster than evidence. Watch how official statistics from Stats SA and the IEC are dismissed because they interfere with fear and emotion. Watch how presenting verified data invites attacks from social media trolls. The Real Crisis South Africa faces real crises — unemployment, poverty, inequality, crime, corruption and collapsing public services. None of these problems will be solved through conspiracy theories and fabricated statistics designed to turn poor people against one another. A lie repeated thousands of times on TikTok does not become the truth.
Zwelinzima Vavi26,382 Aufrufe • vor 5 Tagen
My sincere apologies in advance to Tsonga/Shangaan-speaking workers whose nationality is being abused in the video. This moment reinforces the need to strengthen our resolve and uphold our principles against mob justice, street justice, regionalism, and xenophobia
Zwelinzima Vavi271,697 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
Another world exists parallel to the planet we live on
Zwelinzima Vavi330,569 Aufrufe • vor 3 Monaten
Nelson Mandela, one of the few not afraid to speak out against US imperialism
Zwelinzima Vavi390,331 Aufrufe • vor 5 Monaten
So both they and South Africans must be beaten up in the streets
Zwelinzima Vavi60,865 Aufrufe • vor 24 Tagen
We invite all those willing to engage this debate with maturity and honesty to do so. Help answer former President Thabo Mbeki’s question: is there a relationship between what has unfolded over the past 15 years and the current levels of anger, hopelessness, frustration and social despair gripping our society? But once the discussion degenerates into personalised attacks, insults and bad-faith smears, we will simply block you.
Zwelinzima Vavi27,385 Aufrufe • vor 12 Tagen
