Police monitor anti-foreigner tensions and election disinformation ahead of Wednesday’s vote

Police and the national NATJOINTS structure are monitoring anti-foreigner tensions, public-safety threats and election disinformation ahead of South Africa’s local elections on November 4. The Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change identified 79 potentially harmful posts between October 22 and 29, mostly on X, involving claims of election rigging, foreign nationals and calls for action at voting stations. The posts drew about 546,600 views; CABC classified 51 as mis- or disinformation, 33 as hate speech and 12 as incitement to violence, with overlapping categories that are not legal findings. In Cape Town, the City rejected a fabricated list of municipal employees that could expose them to intimidation, harassment and threats.