Digital Diplomacy: Pearl Thusi Deletes Old Posts Criticising Zimbabwean Government
South African actress Pearl Thusi has deleted some of her old posts on social media that criticised the Zimbabwean government for human rights abuses and expressed solidarity with the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter campaign in 2020.
Zim Propaganda Offensive
This comes after she visited Zimbabwe along with fellow celebrities Sonia Mbele and Sello Maake ka Ncube and Mzansi journalists. They also met with President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other top officials of the ruling ZANU PF party.
The visit was part of a state-sponsored tour dubbed “The True Zimbabwe Tour” that aimed to showcase the achievements and development projects of the Mnangagwa administration.
Pearl Thusi Deletes Old Posts Criticising Zimbabwean Government [Image: Nick Mangwana/Twitter]
However, the visit sparked outrage among many Zimbabweans and South Africans who accused the celebrities of endorsing a repressive regime that has been accused of cracking down on dissent, arresting and torturing journalists and opposition activists, and failing to address the economic and social crises facing the country.
Some of Pearl Thusi’s fans also expressed disappointment and betrayal, as they reminded her of her previous posts that condemned the Zimbabwean government and supported the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter campaign, which was inspired by the global Black Lives Matter movement. The campaign was launched in August 2020 after several high-profile arrests, abductions and torture of political activists and journalists in Zimbabwe.
Pearl Thusi Deletes Old Posts Bashing Zimbabwean Government
Pearl Thusi, who has over 3 million followers on Instagram and over 2 million on Twitter, has since deleted some of her old posts that showed her support for the campaign. For example, she deleted a post from August 4, 2020, where she wrote: “I stand with you Zimbabwe. I love you. I’m sorry you’re going through this. #ZimbabweanLivesMatter”.
She also deleted another post from August 5, 2020, where she shared a video of a Zimbabwean woman narrating her ordeal of being abducted and tortured by suspected state agents 2.
Pearl Thusi has not publicly commented on why she deleted her old posts or on the controversy surrounding her visit to Zimbabwe. However, some speculated that she might have been pressured or paid by the Zimbabwean government or ZANU PF to delete her posts and to promote a positive image of the country.
Heir Heavenly:
“@PearlThusi lacks principles because of her love of money unclean money from a rogue regime gvt in Zimbabwe 🇿🇼”
Mokgalabje:
“Do you think any adult can be influenced by Pearl to vote for Zanu?”
Advhokecy:
“Unbelievable that she deleted the tweets, that will be her greatest undoing, my question is did the regime ask her to delete first or she deleted on her own after securing the gig😲?”
