Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga

Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga is a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Study (JIAS) at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He is also a contract Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg in the Department of Communication and Media in South Africa. Previously, he was a lecturer and Teaching Assistant at Lupane State University and National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe. Mbongeni is affiliated with CSLS as a Co-Investigator on a British Academy’s ODA International Interdisciplinary Research Project Program funded project called Gender and Digital Repression: The Practice and Toll of Digital Repression on Women in the Authoritarian Turn.

Mbongeni’s research interests are in the practice of journalism, social media activism and cultural studies. His research interests are sparked by an increase in the harassment of journalists in the Global South and the digitization of journalism practice that have seen a plethora of new formats enter the journalistic field (e.g. TikTok and Instagram) challenging journalisms norms, routines and practices. He is also interested in social media activism research that has enabled activists and protest movements to self-medicate and distribute movement goals or frames more easily.

He has co-edited a book titled Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism published by Routledge, Media, Social Movements and Protest Cultures set to be published by Lexington Publishers in November 2024. His monograph titled Political Humor and Zimbabwean Identity on Social Media Platforms was published by Bloomsbury Publishing.

Mbongeni completed his DLitt et Phil in Communication Studies at the University of Johannesburg in 2022, funded by Canon Collins Trust in partnership with Sol Plaatje Educational Project. His doctoral dissertation interrogated the role of political satire in constructing national identity in Zimbabwe, focusing on Magamba and Bustop TV YouTube channels.