Social media call for lozenges as Jacob Zuma's testimony goes global

16 July 2019 - 12:32
By NIVASHNI NAIR
Former president Jacob Zuma's testimony is irritating many, with his 'convenient amnesia', constant clearing of the throat and use of the term 'I don't know' eliciting negative comments.
Image: ESA ALEXANDER Former president Jacob Zuma's testimony is irritating many, with his 'convenient amnesia', constant clearing of the throat and use of the term 'I don't know' eliciting negative comments.

While in the hot seat at the commission of inquiry into state capture, former president Jacob Zuma still held his spot as one of the most talked-about South Africans on social media.

It was no surprise that the sentiments were mostly negative.

Acumen Media's analysis of trending topics on social media found that 53.3% of the posts, mentions or comments on Zuma were negative.

"Many commented that Zuma's convenient amnesia and use of the term 'I don't know' left social media irritated.

"The constant clearing of his throat also called for sponsors like Strepsils or drinking games as the nation poked fun at Zuma," Acumen Media analyst Tonya Khoury told TimesLIVE.

Despite the negative sentiment, Zuma supporters were out in full force with uBaba being the biggest word on social media on Monday as well as on Tuesday morning.

Former president Jacob Zuma's appearance before the commission of inquiry into state capture is a global story.
Image: supplied/Acumen Media Former president Jacob Zuma's appearance before the commission of inquiry into state capture is a global story.

Acumen's statistics showed that Zuma's testimony before the commission of inquiry was a global story with posts coming from the US, France, the UK, India and Zimbabwe.

Most social media posts on Zuma were made by entrepreneurs and were mostly by men. 

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