A new frontier of cyber vigilantism? Reviewing the Black Twitter community in South Africa.

Black Twitter is known to bring to light pressing issues around the world, channel Black narratives, expose misconduct and mobilise social justice movements. With popular hashtags that shape contemporary political and social discourses, the site has encouraged racial debates, cancel culture and doxing activities. Using content analysis, the data examined includes Twitter/X posts and trends, hashtag movements, commentary articles and existing literature on cyber vigilantism. This article addresses a complex interplay of social and technological factors shaping this phenomenon and emphasises the need for greater awareness to mitigate the risks associated with cyber vigilantism. The article submits that cyber vigilantism awareness and prevention strategies will benefit the social and economic wellbeing of a hyper-connected society.

Publication Details

Journal
South African Crime Quarterly
Published
2025-08-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.17159/sacq.n74.16482
Primary Topic
African cultural and philosophical studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

A new frontier of cyber vigilantism? Reviewing the Black Twitter community in South Africa.

South African Crime Quarterly
African cultural and philosophical studies
article

A new frontier of cyber vigilantism? Reviewing the Black Twitter community in South Africa.

article en

Abstract

Black Twitter is known to bring to light pressing issues around the world, channel Black narratives, expose misconduct and mobilise social justice movements. With popular hashtags that shape contemporary political and social discourses, the site has encouraged racial debates, cancel culture and doxing activities. Using content analysis, the data examined includes Twitter/X posts and trends, hashtag movements, commentary articles and existing literature on cyber vigilantism. This article addresses a complex interplay of social and technological factors shaping this phenomenon and emphasises the need for greater awareness to mitigate the risks associated with cyber vigilantism. The article submits that cyber vigilantism awareness and prevention strategies will benefit the social and economic wellbeing of a hyper-connected society.

South African Crime Quarterly(74)
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 43%
African cultural and philosophical studies
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