Several have been approached by political parties to promote them, for a monetary fee
< p>South Africa's social media influencers, popular with the youth, are taking on a new role ahead of this week's national elections… and it's none other than political mobilisers.
With 42% of registered of voters to be under 40, the younger demographic could play an important role in Wednesday's (29/5) election.
Between videos of jokes and relationship topics, Karabo “Kay” Mahapa, a TikTok creator who has over 350,000 followers, takes a detour from his usual content to tell people to go vote.
< p>The messages are aimed at the young electorate, which, according to a recent survey, is pessimistic about the future of the country.
“We are tired of this toxic relationship with them”< /strong>
The recurring question in Mahapa's election-themed videos – “Who are we voting for?” – reflects the uncertainty of a generation.
“I just want to emphasize the importance of voting,” he told the BBC.
While he has never explicitly told his followers which party to vote for, he has made it clear which party he will not vote for.
In one of his videos, which has over 1.7 million views, he earnestly asks if people will agree not to support the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
It is impossible to know how many of them will agree with Mahapa, but if the polls are correct, then the ANC may lose its absolute majority in parliament for the first time since 1994.
In recent years, the party has been bogged down by allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement after three decades in power.
Underneath the young influencer's video, one person commented: “Even though we don't know who to vote for the ANC should to leave. We are tired of this toxic relationship with them”.
On the other hand, there isn't much enthusiasm for the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, in the comments section either.
'If she wasn't the beauty guru, I wouldn't have signed up'
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Influencing in South Africa is no longer about promoting perfumes, clothing and restaurants. It now includes the discussion and promotion of ideas and political philosophies.
Ronel Gerber, managing director at FGX studios, a Johannesburg-based marketing firm, told the BBC that marketing spend on influencers has increased by 78% in the past three years.
“They are word of mouth. mouth,” she said, referring to the country's influencers.
Beauty influencer Kay Yarms, who has over half a million followers on Instagram, put it into practice in February, when she used her platform to to encourage her followers to register to vote.
One user said that if she wasn't a beauty guru, she wouldn't have signed up.
A 22-year-old college student said that access to information on social media made him pay more attention to the election, especially as a voter. for the first time.
“Social media provided me with several resources to help me learn about voting, the electoral process and political issues,” he told the BBC.
Mahapa said he was approached by a political party to encourage his followers to vote for it, but he refused. He did not reveal who it was.
He told the BBC that many influencers, big and small, have been approached by political parties and paid to promote them. Gerber confirmed that this is a common practice.
Mahapa does not judge the content creators who accept the money, as he believes that the current economic situation in South Africa — with an unemployment rate of almost 33% — has left many people in despair.
source: in.gr
