How Zambian social media reacted to white #LintonLies

If anything can bring a country together, it’s a foreigner lying about their experience staying there. No seriously, follow #LintonLies on Twitter to see how Zambians and supporting Africans from EVERYWHERE stopped their usual tweeting schedules to participate in a virtual protest about a white lady named Louise Linton who spent a gap year in a remote town in Zambia and made up a bunch of ‘experiences’ during her stay here. Read her full story here. I won’t get into it because my focus is on how powerful social media can be as a protest tool and how the turn of events cruised through a weekend after the story was published:

1. Firstly, the tweets started, with Zambian calling out her white lies, no pun intended:

#LintonLies we are about to enter this town that has a population of 80 rebels,pray for us @LouiseLinton pic.twitter.com/m0o6BsgQ4d

— Chishala Chitoshi Jr (@geshgroove) July 5, 2016

Rebels blew up the main water pipe to the village in Northern Zambia . Locals think it’s a waterfall #LintonLies pic.twitter.com/6Nqyqbet5P

— Xhaka Zulu (@MaceWimbu) July 5, 2016

Taking care of Zimba, while dodging Rebels,& wildlife close calls in Africa’s darkest jungles of Zambia. #LintonLies pic.twitter.com/iSDs0JO9x1

— Lusé Fiasco (@Skip_toMyLu) July 4, 2016

9. Monsoon Season in Zambia.? Yes just after the snow melted #LintonLies

— Laura Miti (@LauraMiti) July 4, 2016

The only thing missing from @LouiseLinton jungle caper was Tarzan swinging to her rescue ??? #LintonLies

— Masuka Mutenda (@MasukaMutenda) July 4, 2016

“I tried not to think what the rebels would do to the skinny white muzungu with long angel hair” #LintonLies pic.twitter.com/QPyCUusE9I

— #EndChildMarriage (@PetraChikasa) July 4, 2016

Ugh. Do people still think we don’t have internet in Africa? In the ‘jungle’. That we’ll never read what they write about us. #LintonLies

— Sithé Annette Ncube (@_LadySith) July 4, 2016

In her entire story Louise Linton only mentions one child, an orphan living with HIV. Trying to stereotype Africa huh? #LintonLies

— Muchemwa Sichone (@WriteRevolt) July 4, 2016

— Sophie Ikenye (@sikenye) July 4, 2016

????? whose child did this? #LintonLies pic.twitter.com/AXV6jnuocj

— Martha ✍ (@ChilongoshiM) July 5, 2016

Don’t forget to comment on amazon, #LintonLies @LouiseLinton @LauraMiti @Telegraph #Zambia pic.twitter.com/66pPAXIRHS

— Agatha Zaza (@agathazaza) July 4, 2016

… and the tweets go on and on!

2. She responded before deleting her Twitter account @LousieLinton, giving what many have called a lame apology. Thank the technology gods for screenshots:

 

3. A Little Zimba parody Twitter account was created, ridiculing the story hilariously:

It’s been hard but luckily, every year a new group of gap year saviours arrive! #LintonLies https://t.co/dOiNl5Ytit

— Zimba (@LittleZimba) July 5, 2016

Those asking what tribe I am, Zimba is OBVIOUSLY a Bemba girls name. #LintonLies

— Zimba (@LittleZimba) July 5, 2016

When the only thing your best friend remembers about you is your gap tooth #LintonLies pic.twitter.com/lzSR4Q9A1g

— Zimba (@LittleZimba) July 5, 2016

Guys, I live in the most dense jungle of the most remote country (Africa). What’s there to do besides tweet all day? #LintonLies

— Zimba (@LittleZimba) July 5, 2016

Rueese and I had a deal about the profits of that book. Thanks a lot guys ?????? #LintonLies

— Zimba (@LittleZimba) July 5, 2016

When your best friend tells the whole world you have HIV #LintonLies pic.twitter.com/4FnwwkO80H

— Zimba (@LittleZimba) July 5, 2016

You have to see the whole timeline for your amusement.

4. An online petition to get her book off Amazon titled “In Congo’s Shadow” (where the original excerpt of the story published in the Telegraph came from) was started by Greenwell Nyirenda and has since gotten 1119 signatures, more than its 1000 signature goal. The book has garnered negative reviews and 89% 1-star ratings from 145 customer reviews. Let’s not even get started on the comments!

 

Lastly, it’s made news worldwide in major online publications, showing the ‘white savior’ mentality that foreigners still have about Mama Africa as a whole. “Don’t save her, she don’t wanna be saved!” 

What’s happened since then? We’re yet to find out. Apart from the petition, no word has come forth from Telegraph or Amazon about the book, and whether it will be taken down.

That’s the power of social media though, correcting facts on a daily basis, 140 characters or less! Authors should think about that when writing books, or atleast label them on-fiction/fiction if they don’t want this kind of negative attention or review on social media.