Chibuwe, AlbertMunoriyarwa, Allen2022-06-202022-06-202022Chibuwe, A., & Munoriyarwa, A. (2022). Laughing through the virus the Zimbabwean way: WhatsApp humor and the twenty-one-day COVID-19 lockdown. African Studies Review, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2022.201555-2462http://hdl.handle.net/11660/11684In many African countries, jokes represent one of the many means used by citizens to cope with a crisis. Chibuwe and Munoriyarwa explore how Zimbabweans utilize WhatsApp jokes, which are anchored in the concept of the “everyday,” to cope with pandemic-induced lockdowns. COVID-19 jokes provide citizens momentary relief from fear and function as a defense mechanism against COVID-19 and its effects, enabling citizens to confront and rationalize fear, death, and suffering. Chibuwe and Munoriyarwa argue that jokes are also a means of speaking truth to power by disgruntled citizens attempting to cope with a health crisis, in a context characterized by corruption, state repression, and bad governance.enCOVID-19ZimbabweHumorSatireSocial mediaHealthArticleAuthor(s)