From debate to digital warfare: Botswana’s crisis of democratic discourse

The proliferation of digital platforms has effectively democratised the ability to publish. Every citizen now possesses the communicative power once reserved for professionally trained journalists and editors. Yet this expansion of participation has occurred without a parallel strengthening of information literacy, verification norms or institutional trust.

As a result, the country finds itself navigating an increasingly polarised and emotionally charged digital landscape in which claims are judged less by their accuracy than by their alignment with pre-existing political loyalties. The epistemic function of the public sphere – that is, its capacity to generate shared understanding – has begun to weaken.