Heated Helen Zille makes a hashtag of own party's policy

This week a Twitter war broke out between various journalists and analysts and DA leader Helen Zille, after the Western Cape government decided not to renew its subscription to the Cape Times newspaper.

It represents the latest online conflict involving the DA leader and has raised questions about the party's social media policy and how it is applied, in particular, to Zille herself.

The Sunday Times has exclusive access to that policy and the one that predated it, which was adopted in 2012.

Several commentators have described Zille's conduct in the recent exchange as "abrasive" and "bullying", and it prompted a series of articles that took issue with her online persona, most notably from analyst Eusebius McKaiser and the Mail & Guardian's Verashni Pillay.

In reference to her article "Eight times Helen Zille made journalists' lives hell", Pillay tweeted: "I've highlighted some of the worst instances of Zille's bullying. She's abusive, particularly to younger journos, & her party does nothing."

Zille fought back on her own Twitter account, saying, among other things, "Any politician who does not genuflect to journalists is accused of being arrogant. I gave [John Robbie] as good as I got" and "I just call it as I see it. My aim is not to make friends. It is to get as close to the truth as I can."

Social Media Policy

But it would appear that in doing so, Zille, and, in the past, other DA senior leaders, have breached the party's social media policy, which requires office-bearers not to make statements that are "of an insulting nature, derogatory or insensitive".

Adopted in November last year, the policy, titled "Confidentiality of closed meetings and social media policy", seeks to regulate party members' conduct on social media and offers sanctions such as termination of membership.

According to the new policy, which replaces the 2012 one, DA representatives are seen as brand ambassadors, and "communications by public representatives, office-bearers or members must not be of an insulting nature, derogatory or insensitive, nor cause unnecessary offence or harm to the party's brand and its electoral prospects".

This follows a series of highly embarrassing leaks in the media last year when parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko left her party job to study at Harvard University in the US.

In a Sunday Times article, highly placed sources told of a DA federal executive meeting where Zille had claimed that she had "made" Mazibuko.

Zille described the leak as a lie, driven by people with a vendetta inside the party and out to capitalise of the vacuum left by Mazibuko.

Asked whether the article resulted in the changed policy, James Selfe, chairman of the DA's federal executive, would only say: "From time to time, federal council or federal executive adopt policies to guide or regulate members' conduct."

Selfe confirmed that the policy applied to Zille.

He would not discuss how many people had been charged and found in violation of the 2012 and 2014 policies.

"Internal disciplinary matters are exactly that: internal matters. In the DA, disciplinary structures are mandated by relevant executives, to which they report after they have completed investigations or hearings."

He stated that only members of the requisite party structures would have the appropriate standing to obtain such information.

Zille has been one of the most controversial DA representatives on Twitter over the past four years.

In December last year, she tweeted: "Atheists commit mass slaughter because they believe they are God, and that their ideology permits them to."

She later apologised for any offence caused, saying she was referring to "atheist fundamentalists". The tweet has since been deleted.

Courting controversy, 140 characters at a time

The DA social media policy states that no social media content from its public representatives may be of "an insulting nature, derogatory or insensitive". These recent posts appear to test that rule. It is not known if any of them resulted in disciplinary action, as the DA refuses to divulge that information.

June 2014: Deputy chief whip Mike Waters posts a picture on Twitter of a line of dogs queueing to urinate on a poster of President Zuma with the phrase "Voting day. Make your mark."

November 13 2014: DA chief whip John Steenhuisen tweets: "@bram_hanekom celebrating?? Your security forces assault members of parliament including women on the floor of parliament go fuck yourself!!!"

December 8 2014: National spokesman Marius Redelinghuys calls for whites to admit their inherent racism, saying: "[Whites] can start by changing your 'I'm not racist, but ...' into 'I'm racist, but ...'"

Read the Policies Here (You Will Need a PDF Reader):

Old Social Media Policy

New Social Media Policy

Amid whispers of mutiny, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille tackles her rivals - in newspapers, on radio and on social media. Get your Sunday Times newspaper to read more or Subscribe Online.