Russian Twitter Drive Has Zuma Daughter at Center, Study Claims
- CIR says Zuma-Sambudla’s tweets reposted around world
- Tweets show support for Russia, President Vladimir Putin
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla
Photographer: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images/Getty Images
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A daughter of South Africa’s disgraced former President Jacob Zuma has been placed at the center of a Russia-backed Twitter campaign to bolster support for the attack on Ukraine, according to social media research commissioned and funded by the Centre for Information Resilience.
A study backed by the London-based nonprofit, which raises funding for specific projects, alleges that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla was at the forefront of Russia’s drive to sway public opinion to its side in South Africa and beyond. Posts bearing her name were reused in other regions in the #IStandWithRussia and #IStandWithPutin Twitter campaigns, according to the CIR.