International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) Volume 5 Issue 5, July-August 2021 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470 @ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD46315 | Volume – 5 | Issue – 5 | Jul-Aug 2021 Page 2257 Investigating Social Media Role in Crisis Communication: Case of Hoatiti News Reporting of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Lesotho Tawanda Mukurunge 1 , Tawanda Wallace Mataka 2 , Takura Bhila 3 1 Lecturer of Digital Media, Journalism and Education, Lesotho 2 Lecturer of Language Development in English Second Language Learners, Research in Education, Social Justice and Literacy Development, Lesotho 3 Lecturer of Educational Technology in Higher Tertiary Education, Lesotho ABSTRACT Social media has the capacity to inform, educate, entertain and confuse citizens simultaneously because of its deep imbeddedness within communities. This is because social media is readily available to most community members and news production is done surpassing and bypassing filters that humper and debilitate quick production and dissemination of news by mainstream media such as the traditional gate keeping parameters like political correctness and editorial policies. However, social media is regarded with scepticism in some quarters of the news production industry due to its disregard for ethical practice as well as disrespect for sensibilities related to tradition and culture that separate humans from the larger and general animal world. This study therefore sought to investigate the virtues of social media that have elevated the speed and limitless opportunities for Covd-19 news sharing in Lesotho with specific reference to Hoatiti news outlet. The study interviewed news consumers, practising journalists, journalism students and lecturers to establish their views on Hoatiti news coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings were presented and analysed thematically. KEYWORDS: social media, mainstream media, disinformation, misinformation, Hoatiti news, filters How to cite this paper: Tawanda Mukurunge | Tawanda Wallace Mataka | Takura Bhila "Investigating Social Media Role in Crisis Communication: Case of Hoatiti News Reporting of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Lesotho" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456- 6470, Volume-5 | Issue-5, August 2021, pp.2257-2261, URL: www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd46315.pdf Copyright © 2021 by author (s) and International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development Journal. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) INTRODUCTION Social media has opened up news production and news consumption beyond the traditional newsroom. This effectively means that news production is no longer confined to traditional news production mainstream outlets such as the newspaper and other print outlets, traditional broadcast outlets such as radio and television. Any citizen with a gadget to capture photo footage, audio and video content with access to the internet can gladly do so at minimal cost without adhering to parameters like editorial policy and journalistic etiquette or ethical practice. This, from the liberal perspective of freedom of expression, can be something to celebrate because traditional gate keeping and political correctness has had the effect of diluting news to the extent of rendering it almost worthless. At the same time, some political authorities have made sure they control national newspapers, radio and televisions in their countries. However, social media platforms have to be approached with caution when it comes to the production and dissemination of news content on sensitive issues like the Covid-19 pandemic due to the realities of disinformation and misinformation campaigns. Background Lesotho does not have the luxury of wide and diverse media outlets as compared to the immediate neighbour; the Republic of South Africa. Print news consumers are served news once a week by their favourite newspapers as all newspapers in the kingdom publish only once a week. Some of these newspapers publish daily online, however. Radio stations are on the increase but unfortunately do not command nationwide reach due to the geographical IJTSRD46315