An analysis of internet memes and discourses on traditional medicines as remedies for covid-19 in Zimbabwe

The world over, by no doubt, came to halt due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-the worst pandemic to be experienced in the twenty-first century. The virus was initially reported in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and spread across the globe. This pandemic has pushed countries into recessions, forcing sudden severe restrictions and curfews to people's everyday lives. These restrictions have introduced new social life-styles such as social distancing, quarantining and regular use of hand sanitizers. The virus forced countries, corporate organisations and institutions into a new way of implementing work. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been the general playfulness about the virus that has seen an outpouring of memes and gags on social media platforms that invite academic scrutiny. In this chapter, we consider how humour has been used as a means of communicating indigenous ways of boosting the immune system and treating COVID-19 pandemic. We consider how memes gave people a sense of power to comment on prescribed treatments for the COVID-19 virus. Findings show that memes were used to challenge vaccines, commercialise indigenous herbs such as Zumbani/umsuzwane and constitute a social commentary on COVID-19 indigenous herbs.