Three years after deadly violence rocked SA in what became known as the ‘July unrest’, an expert says the country’s security apparatus could do more to harness the full potential of social media.
Speaking in an interview with Salaamedia on Thursday morning, Heidi Swart, researcher and coordinator at Intelwatch, said platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook could really be used as eyes and ears on the ground, to prevent another paroxysm of anarchy.
“You have to be able to monitor social media to catch these kinds of things. It’s not the only source of information, but WhatsApp, Facebook, are really great. They’re actually becoming critical in keeping an eye on ground-level events,” she said.
Describing state agencies as being in a state of “inertia”, she said the right people had to be put in the right places, and must do their job.
She stated: “You have some people in there who really want to do the job and then you have other people who are really just there for the salary or the kickbacks”.
During the presidency of Jacob Zuma, the SA government came under fire for widespread surveillance where, in some instances, it allegedly intercepted private conversations. However, public platforms can provide crucial information, she said.
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