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“The role of online disinformation in supporting SLAPP lawsuits in South Africa: A case study of Zunaid Moti’s online campaign and SLAPP lawsuit against amaBhungane and the impact on its journalists”
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613862294978560 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Roodt, Daniel |
| author2 | Wasserman, Herman |
| author_browse | Roodt, Daniel Wasserman, Herman |
| author_facet | Wasserman, Herman Roodt, Daniel |
| author_sort | Roodt, Daniel |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132462 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:42:53.367Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132462 “The role of online disinformation in supporting SLAPP lawsuits in South Africa: A case study of Zunaid Moti’s online campaign and SLAPP lawsuit against amaBhungane and the impact on its journalists” Roodt, Daniel Wasserman, Herman Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism. Disinformation -- Political aspects -- South Africa Freedom of expression -- South Africa Freedom of the press -- South Africa Malicious prosecution Investigative reporting -- South Africa Journalists -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa Online information services -- Social aspects -- South Africa Digital media -- South Africa UCTD SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Roodt, D. 2025. “The role of online disinformation in supporting SLAPP lawsuits in South Africa: A case study of Zunaid Moti’s online campaign and SLAPP lawsuit against amaBhungane and the impact on its journalists”. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/49cd13f6-2828-45ab-9d96-b4dca694b4b0 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Using a case study, this thesis explores the online information disorder campaigns accompanying strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP) cases. The case study focuses on South African businessperson Zunaid Moti’s online campaign on social media and in the mainstream media against the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism, its journalists and publishing partners. It examines the key themes that emerged from Moti’s campaign and the impact of the online campaign and SLAPP on how the amaBhungane journalists practised journalism. The thesis aims to contribute to the field by highlighting the links between SLAPPs and accompanying online campaigns. While many scholars have examined these individual topics in detail, little literature focuses on how they intersect and aim to serve a similar purpose. Through this case study, the research sets out to show how online campaigns can be used to advance the goal of SLAPPs in South Africa and the significant impact caused by both on targeted journalists. The study uses qualitative methods to examine two strands of inquiry. The first involves a thematic analysis of Moti’s social media posts and opinion pieces about the legal case he initiated against amaBhungane. The themes were identified using an emergent coding approach and were primarily analysed through the theory of information disorder. The second involved semi-structured in-depth interviews with four journalists targeted by Moti, purposively selected for this study. The study highlighted that Moti attempted to discredit and delegitimise amaBhungane and its publishing partners using multiple methods. At the centre of his campaign were aspects highlighted by the information disorder theory, namely misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. The primary themes that emerged from Moti’s use of these multiple methods on social media included labelling the journalists as racist, accusing them of having various agendas, being accomplices to theft and violating his and his company’s right to privacy. Regarding amaBhungane’s reporting, he argued that it failed to uphold journalistic standards by not giving him time to respond and never definitively proving any allegations. Through a process of reverse agenda setting, Moti also accused amaBhungane of protecting its former chair, who was accused of sexual harassment. The second part of the research indicated that the Moti case had numerous impacts on the targeted journalists. The lawsuit prevented them from accessing documents leaked from the Moti Group, rendering them unable to work on the case. The journalists were also forced to take precautions to improve their home and office security. This was due to Moti’s alleged influence on certain police stations in Johannesburg, leading to a concern that they might have documents seized or be held on dubious grounds. The measures taken to combat the threats posed a financial and logistical challenge, which impacted the amaBhungane team’s ability to practice journalism. However, the publication did not self-censor, with the journalists committing themselves to investigating malfeasance through their work. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar nie. Masters 2025-06-09T09:38:58Z 2025-06-09T09:38:58Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132462 en_ZA Stellenbosch University 125 pages : ill.ustrations application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Disinformation -- Political aspects -- South Africa Freedom of expression -- South Africa Freedom of the press -- South Africa Malicious prosecution Investigative reporting -- South Africa Journalists -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa Online information services -- Social aspects -- South Africa Digital media -- South Africa UCTD SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) Roodt, Daniel “The role of online disinformation in supporting SLAPP lawsuits in South Africa: A case study of Zunaid Moti’s online campaign and SLAPP lawsuit against amaBhungane and the impact on its journalists” |
| title | “The role of online disinformation in supporting SLAPP lawsuits in South Africa: A case study of Zunaid Moti’s online campaign and SLAPP lawsuit against amaBhungane and the impact on its journalists” |
| title_full | “The role of online disinformation in supporting SLAPP lawsuits in South Africa: A case study of Zunaid Moti’s online campaign and SLAPP lawsuit against amaBhungane and the impact on its journalists” |
| title_fullStr | “The role of online disinformation in supporting SLAPP lawsuits in South Africa: A case study of Zunaid Moti’s online campaign and SLAPP lawsuit against amaBhungane and the impact on its journalists” |
| title_full_unstemmed | “The role of online disinformation in supporting SLAPP lawsuits in South Africa: A case study of Zunaid Moti’s online campaign and SLAPP lawsuit against amaBhungane and the impact on its journalists” |
| title_short | “The role of online disinformation in supporting SLAPP lawsuits in South Africa: A case study of Zunaid Moti’s online campaign and SLAPP lawsuit against amaBhungane and the impact on its journalists” |
| title_sort | the role of online disinformation in supporting slapp lawsuits in south africa a case study of zunaid moti s online campaign and slapp lawsuit against amabhungane and the impact on its journalists |
| topic | Disinformation -- Political aspects -- South Africa Freedom of expression -- South Africa Freedom of the press -- South Africa Malicious prosecution Investigative reporting -- South Africa Journalists -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa Online information services -- Social aspects -- South Africa Digital media -- South Africa UCTD SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132462 |
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