However, the Group noted that most privately-owned newspapers supported the opposition and only one, Daily News, took a more independent stance. Social media In July 2018, there were 6.7 million internet users in Zimbabwe, which was 40.2 per cent of the population. 53 per cent were active on Facebook, 21 per cent on Pinterest and 18 per cent on Twitter. The remainder were split between Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. Social media channels played an important role in the dissemination of opinions and information during the 2018 election campaign, which could also be attributed to the fact that state-owned mainstream media channels were so heavily biased in favour of the governing party. The audience for social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp is mostly the urban and diaspora-based Zimbabwean voter, as they have greater internet access. One of the noteworthy characteristics of the social media electoral campaign was that it served the primary function of fortifying already existing political positions, by acting as ‘echo chambers’ of already held perspectives. Prominent Zimbabwean ‘Facebookers’ and Twitter celebrities have been posting on social media, indicating which party they support. Hate speech on Zimbabwe’s social media landscape has, however, vitiated the atmosphere, particularly with gender-based death threats. It was reported that four unnamed Zimbabweans were arrested by the police for hate speech on social media. The Group considers hate speech and its transmission to be unacceptable in any circumstance. In addition to legislation against hate speech, the Group proposes that the ZEC introduces measures to address the problem, such as incorporating it into the Electoral Code of Conduct for Political Parties. Recommendations  The ZEC should incorporate a code of conduct for the use of social media into the Electoral Code of Conduct for Political Parties.  The ZEC’s capacity to monitor the media and ensure balanced coverage should be strengthened, including through the creation of an immediate mechanism to enforce balanced election coverage by broadcast and print media.  Media outlets should establish an independent, self-regulatory authority to set out standards and codes of behaviour for their organisations, which can rule on complaints from the public about biased news coverage during election campaigns. The self-regulatory authority should also operate independently of the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC). 44