MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA AND SOCIETY STUDIES
JOURNALISM AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
(MSS424)
LEVEL 4.2

NAME SURNAME REG

ADMIRE BISHI R176650Y

ROSELYNN CHININGA R174707Y

LECTURER DR MASUKU

QUESTION Asses the role played by social media in exposing the embezzlement of

Covid 19 funds across the globe

Asses the role played by social media in exposing the embezzlement of Covid 19 funds
across the globe

The Covid 19 pandemic which started in early 2020s has ravaged the world leading to countries
going through anti covid 19 campaigns. These campaigns were done in order to reduce the
effects of Covid 19 to the nations and their citizens. Funds were availed by different countries to
acquire vaccines, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), business stimulus packages as well
relief packages for citizens. Some of the funds that were availed to this cause did not end up
being used to the cause as some people used the funds for their personal use. This essay therefore
seeks to assess the role that social media played in exposing embezzlement of covid 19 by
individuals, organizations and governments globally.

Social media has led to the rise of citizen journalism worldwide. With the advent of technology,
general citizens with access to smartphone have the ability to become news reporters or
journalists by using that same smartphone to gather and disseminate information. According to
Bertot, Jaeger and Grimes (2010), citizen journalists and political bloggers add to the variety of
information sources and create transparency. One particular example is of a case in the United
States of America, where Small Business Administration allegedly abused USD1 Billion which
was meant to be given to companies so that they remain afloat as operations were affected by
Covid 19. It is alleged that the Small Business Administration mismanaged these funds by giving
companies that had already benefited from the fund multiple loans which was against the
regulations which stipulated that each company would receive only one loan. It is also alleged
that loans were also given to doggy businesses as well as companies who did not qualify for the
loans. Citizen journalists such as William Shear and Arnold and Porter Kaye, who also have a
law firm, pressured the US Department of justice to deal with over 50 cases of this nature and
usually updated the nation through social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and their
blogs and websites. They advocated for transparency on how these issues were being handled
and uncovered corruption, help solve social problems as well as pressure the Small Business
Administration to change policy therefore reducing misappropriation of funds.

Furthermore, as social media is difficult to monitor it has also been used as a platform to expose
corruption. Social media reduces corruption by giving the public access to information about
corrupt public officials (Goel et al 2012). For example, in Cameroon, social media has been used
by the opposition political parties and locals to pressure the government to publish how it used
the $35 Million loan after private journalist heard that the funds were reportedly stolen by the
ministers. They also shared the audit by the supreme court bench which found out that the
country was also given $9 Million meant for production of chloroquine, but instead they bought
the drug with 30% of the funds then the remainder disappeared. It is therefore through social
media that these activities were brought to light as it is close to impossible to censor information.

To add on, social media makes it easier for investigative journalists to publish misconduct by
public institutions anonymously. This is critical for journalists to protect their identity in the case
where they will be liable to prosecution and physical harm to themselves as issues to do with
embezzlement of funds and auditors reports are usually classified (Andersen 2009; Andersen,
Bentzen, Dalgaard, & Selaya, 2011). Through social media, journalists can bypass self-
censorship and enable others especially the public to access that information deemed classified
(Nam 2012). In Zimbabwe, due to social media, a Netone Scandal which involved the
misappropriation of the Covid 19 relief funds was also brought to light to the public through
social media. Netone employees allegedly converted funds meant for the most vulnerable
members of society in rural areas to their personal use. When the auditor’s report was realized,
the mainstream media did not report on any case relating to this scandal, with social media later
exposing this scandal to the public and the world at large. It is through this exposure that the
public started to demand for accountability from the government over how Covid 19 fund are
being used.

Moreover, social media plays an important role in the exposure of corruption as it allows people
to instant spreading of corrupt activities as well giving the public more diverse and independent
views on corruption (Andersen, Bentzen, Dalgaard, & Selaya, 2011). As these matters are
exposed, they prompt the public to apply pressure on the public officials or the individual in
question (Dahlberg 2007). Becker 1974 asserts that the exposure of corruption through social
media has a preventive effect on politicians deterring them form engaging in corrupt activities.
The Draxgate scandal in Zimbabwe, which involved the former Ministry of Health and Child
Care minister, Obadiah Moyo and Delish Nguwaya was exposed by renowned journalist
Hopewell Chin’ono through social media. Obadiah Moyo allegedly awarded a US60 million
tender to Drax without following due process and then authorized a payment of US60 million to
Drax international who supplied the ministry with equipment at inflated prices. For example,
surgical masks which costed US12 each in China, were sold to the Ministry at US60 each.
Chin’ono supplied evidence to these allegations therefore prompting a public outcry by
Zimbabweans and people around the world leading to the arrest of Delish Nguwaya and Obidiah
Moyo. It was also established that Delish Nguwaya was linked to the first family and Drax was
less than a year old leading to Interpol freezing the funds.

In conclusion, social media played an important role in exposing embezzlement of Covid 19

funds globally as many issues which had to do with mismanagement of these funds were
exposed through social media. Social media also promoted citizen journalism which led to
people producing and publishing news on their own.
REFFERENCES

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and Policy, 21(2), 201–210. doi:10.1016/j.infoecopol.2008.11.003

Andersen, T. B., Bentzen, J., Dalgaard, C. J., & Selaya, R. (2011). Does the Internet reduce
corruption? Evidence from U.S. states and across countries. The World Bank Economic Review,
25(3), 387– 417. doi:10.1093/wber/lhr02

Becker, G. S. (1974). Crime and punishment: An economic approach. In G. S. Becker & W. M.

Landes (Eds.), Essays in the economics of crime and punishment (pp. 1–54). New York, NY:
National Bureau of Economic Research.

Bertot, J. C., Jaeger, P. T., & Grimes, J. M. (2010). Using ICTs to create a culture of
transparency: Egovernment and social media as openness and anti-corruption tools for societies.
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Dahlberg, L. (2007). Rethinking the fragmentation of the cyberpublic: From consensus to

contestation. New Media & Society, 9(5), 827–847. doi:10.1177/1461444807081228

Goel, R. K., Nelson, M. A., & Naretta, M. A. (2012). The Internet as an indicator of corruption
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Nam, T. (2012). Freedom of information legislation and its impact on press freedom: A cross-
national study. Government Information Quarterly,29(4),521–531/doi:10.1016/j.giq.2012.03.003