KG Mokgadi investigates whether South Africa's recent xenophobic protest marches are driven by facts or manufactured political narratives.

KG Mokgadi recently joined a xenophobic protest march to determine if South Africans are justified in their anger toward illegal immigrants. While political parties and President Cyril Ramaphosa have framed illegal immigration as a primary threat to national security and economic progress, data suggests a different reality. Statistics show that the proportion of immigrants in South Africa is actually dwindling while deportation figures rise, and prison data does not confirm that migrants are the primary cause of crime. Experts suggest that the current focus on xenophobia may be a convenient electioneering narrative. Dr Loren Landau from the African Centre for Migration & Society noted that parties use immigration to offer a false solution to real problems without taking full responsibility. Furthermore, Kyle Findlay of Murmur Intelligence identified a paid influence campaign behind the scenes, suggesting that xenophobia is a profitable industry. While the media often highlights the drama of the riots, the underlying reality may be a manufactured information operation designed to gain political and economic power.

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