| Summary/Abstract |
The advent of the social media in the past decade has revolutionised communication, overshadowing the traditional ways of communication. Despite its convenience, social media is being used as a conduit for criminal activities. Notwithstanding its dark side, social media has also been utilised in enhancing national security. This study explores the various ways in which social media has been used to enhance national security in Zimbabwe, as well as evaluating the ways of overcoming the social media threats to national security. A total of 274 respondents from members of the public and the security arms of the state were invited to participate in the study through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. In relation to national security, findings reveal that social media is mainly used by the government and its agencies as a platform for explaining key government programmes and safety issues to citizens, as an open source intelligence platform, and for disaster awareness and management. Regulation and monitoring of social media activities was viewed as the most effective measure against social media-induced threats, followed by temporary blocking of social media sites. Notwithstanding the perceived effectiveness of these measures, respondents raised concerns over the human rights implications of the measures.
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