South Africa's anti-foreigner movement has turned its online campaign against the government ahead of Wednesday's local elections. That is the finding of an analysis by Murmur Intelligence, published by Daily Maverick as an op-ed. The movement's share of political conversation rebounded sharply in the week from October 23 to 29.
Murmur Intelligence tracked political talk on X, popular public Facebook pages and online news. About 760,000 posts on X were linked to South African parties, institutions and politicians. That was up from about 610,000 the week before. Two anti-foreigner communities produced 43% of those posts from 25% of accounts, up from 31% the previous week. The community around activist Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma alone produced 32% of posts. The analysts flagged signs of focused amplification. They said they could not tell whether it came from fans, activists or inauthentic coordination.
The clash with the state followed two official moves. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia went to court to stop the group March and March from protesting around Durban's Home Affairs refugee centre. The ATM party accused the government of trying to silence frustrated citizens. President Cyril Ramaphosa then told Parliament that 510 SANDF members would support police in KwaZulu-Natal. Ngobese-Zuma asked why he would spend "R34-million" on soldiers to protect foreigners instead of the border.
Several claims shared within the movement were disputed. ATM's Vuyo Zungula posted that R1.3 billion went on grants for permanent residents, refugees and asylum seekers in 2025/26. According to the analysis, he did not respond to corrections. These pointed out that the sum was a small fraction of a social assistance budget of about R300 billion. An anonymous account shared footage it said showed armed Ethiopians and Somalis confronting residents in Gqeberha.
Critics pushed back. ANC campaigner Buthanani Thobela told Ngobese-Zuma to stop hiding behind immigration and enter politics openly. Commentator Phumzile van Damme said anti-Muslim content was a narrative sponsored by foreign governments. Redi Tlhabi pointed to talking points borrowed from the US.
The EFF's share fell to 14% of posts from 19%. The party was responding to a News24 report that the State Security Agency had planted insiders to spy on it. The agency allegedly spent R12 million on the effort. The EFF condemned what it called the "weaponisation" of the SSA by the ANC. It also went to the Gauteng High Court for the trial record.