“Sizofunda Ngenkani Campaign”: Citizen Mobilisation and Protest in South African Local Languages on TikTok
摘要
This chapter examines the phenomenon of citizen mobilisation and political protest through indigenous languages, specifically analysing the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) TikTok campaign, “#Sizofun=daNgenkani” (we will learn by force), which advocates for free education in South Africa. The research is driven by questions about how users engage with the campaign on TikTok, focusing on the themes, rhetorical strategies, and multimedia elements employed in the videos and comments. This study explores user motivations and engagement patterns, assessing how these interactions fulfil the needs of participants by using the Uses and Gratifications theory and Rhetoric theory. This study applied content analysis to scrutinise TikTok videos and user comments, highlighting the cultural importance of indigenous languages and the effectiveness of visual and auditory elements in conveying political messages. The findings reveal the primary political messages and educational advocacy themes of the campaign, as well as the sentiments expressed by users in their comments. The study argues that the EFF effectively leverages TikTok’s viral potential to mobilise support, demonstrating the innovative role of social media in political campaigns and the importance of indigenous languages in digital political campaigns.