Instagram as a potential platform for alternative Visual Culture in South Africa

Media coverage of Nigeria during Occupy Nigeria mostly focused on alleged violence associated with protesters it rarely attempted to hold the politicians themselves to account. However, a great deal of pressure did come from activists on social media and crucially the Nigerian diaspora. Ordinary Nigerians have warmed to Sahara Reporters' reporting and support it publicly. In one celebrated case, Sahara Reporters' story of 32 aides accompanying Nigeria's first lady on an official trip to an African Union summit in Ethiopia resulted in the presidential spokesperson releasing a press statement aimed specifically at Sahara Reporters. There are other important civil society actors within Africa, who are utilising new media to engage with the global public sphere. One important and under-studied group is youth. Irreverent youth culture both by ordinary Africans on the continent and in the diaspora contributes to online political culture with real effects and, in doing so, creates new forms of African modernity.