ABSTRACT

The Zimbabwean state has in recent years stepped up its surveillance efforts on citizens, civil society and journalists who are viewed as the “enemies of the state”. This state surveillance has been argued to infringe on citizens’ right to privacy and access to information. We are mindful that the “Second Republic” or the “New Dispensation” government has invested heavily in surveillance to silence its critics, among them activists, opposition leaders and journalists. Based on this, the study critically examines the use of surveillance strategies by Zimbabwean journalists and assesses the challenges and opportunities. The study uses in-depth interviews with selected journalists from Zimpapers, Alpha Media Holdings and freelance journalists around the country. The data show that journalists in Zimbabwe use different surveillance strategies, while some are benefiting from state sources for surveillance. Journalists further indicated that they live in fear of the state, which tracks them down. As a result, however, journalists have resorted to various means of security, which include “hunting in packs” and deploying digital security strategies. Findings further demonstrate that newsrooms are poorly equipped with technology for surveillance.

摘要

近年来，津巴布韦政府加大了对被视为“国家敌人”的公民、民间社会和记者的监视力度。这种国家监控被认为侵犯了公民的隐私权和获取信息的权利。我们注意到，“第二共和国”或“新时代”政府已在监视方面投入巨资，以压制其批评者，其中包括活动人士、反对派领导人和记者。在此基础上，该研究批判性地审查了津巴布韦记者对监视策略的使用，并评估了挑战和机遇。该研究对来自 Zimpapers、Alpha Media Holdings 的选定记者和全国各地的自由记者进行了深入采访。数据显示，津巴布韦的记者使用不同的监视策略，而有些人则从国家监控资源中受益。记者进一步表示，他们生活在对追踪他们的国家的恐惧中。然而，因此，记者们采取了各种安全手段，包括“打包狩猎”和部署数字安全策略。调查结果进一步表明，新闻编辑室配备的监控技术很差。