Under the Microscope Season 4 focuses on the worrying rise of xenophobia against African foreign nationals in South Africa. This project, funded by the EU, aims to protect South Africa’s democracy and the human rights enshrined in our constitution, and to create stability in our society so that all who live in it can flourish and thrive. We set out, not only to create awareness of this growing problem, but also to debunk the blatant untruths being spread and to mobilise people to take a stand against hate.

To end the season on a high note, Episode 5 introduces our own movement. To counter the “Hate Movement,” we created The Peace Movement or Operation Ukuthula (“ukuthula” means peace in Zulu). By using the word “operation” we’re taking a dig at the xenophobic organisation Operation Dudula (“dudula” means “push back” in Zulu). We encourage viewers to join the movement by simply adding any emoji symbolising peace to their social media profiles and by responding to or commenting on any xenophobic tweet with #operationukuthula and a peace emoji. Through this action, we promote peace not by arguing or debating with xenophobes, but by demonstrating that their hateful words have no power against tolerance, truth, and unity.

Season 4 is a comprehensive body of work that includes valuable insights and data from the Beyond Borders research report by the Centre for Analytics & Behavioural Change, as well as fact-checked information from independent media in the public domain. It combines a creative-driven process to transform this into edutaining content that reaches as diverse a target audience as possible.