Is Social Media Friend or Foe of Democracy?

This webinar explored the potential of social media to impact democracy in Africa. Our expert panel analyzed the potential impact of social media on civic engagement through its ability to almost “hijack democracy” by influencing individuals toward a particular way of thinking.

We discussed the current state and use of social media in Africa, differences and similarities to other parts of the world, the role of social media in the spread of disinformation, and the potential of social media to promote or alter civic engagement.

Key points by Ioanna Georgia Eskiadi:

Social media have changed our lives in the last few years. Democracy and social media are highly connected social media have provided new opportunities in democratic institutions. People can express themselves, engage and create communities. Social media in Africa play an important role in citizens’ lives. Social media are actually citizen media where citizen journalism is practiced. It’s one of the best democratic tools for citizens, who need to be empowered to use it. Social media amplifies the voice, but the problem is whose the voice is being amplified?

“Social media allows us to give a voice to the voiceless.”

The European Union (EU) has taken some initiatives to set some rules around the use of social media, like the protection of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Also, in Europe the cases of spreading disinformation increased in French elections of 2017, and Brexit has highlighted the need to set specific rules for tackling disinformation, radicalization, and extremism over social media. Social media in Europe have been used by ISIS to radicalize youths, so the EU had to learn how to stop extremist organizations using social media. Disinformation is interconnected with the level of trust people have of professional media. The decline of trust in the last year has led to an increase of social media use, which people use to get their news. So social media should be dealt with similarly to traditional media.

Democracy is really important and sets principles like accountability where social media tend to gain prominence. Social media facilitate the concept of accountability because democracy thrives when people have information, and democracy is built on conversation. But it’s important to highlight that on social media it depends on who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed. So the same rules of ethics should be applied to social media as with news organizations. We have to overturn the traditional approach and treat them as news organizations, since there are not only apps for distributing information, but there are also apps that create information.

“Social media are not only tech apps, but are a new type of media organizations.”

It’s important in the social media environment to look at how the standards of journalism work. Facebook admitted that they don’t do what they should to keep and empower democratic values. It’s also difficult to treat social media as traditional media, since you will have a newsroom with a couple of millions of journalists working around the world. Another difficulty is to manage what is said on social media and find a way to access what’s happening. Social media are a tool where someone shares experiences in a community, which is important for a democratic process. Social media can have both positive and negative aspects.

Social media in Africa are one of the most effective ways of getting people engaged in society and communicate. Also, they are one of the best ways to communicate and address disinformation. Governments are able to understand the issues that interest people and assist with them. But the problem in Africa is that most of the areas can’t access the internet where people feel criticized. The negative use of social media has damaged plenty of reputations through the spread of false news. In Africa, also, social media are used by governments as a propaganda tool. Messaging apps are gaining popularity in Africa, since they are more powerful than social media. What’sApp particularly is one of the cheapest apps. In Africa, people buy internet for the use of specific apps, so this determines which social media will be used the most. But at the same time, messaging apps are one of the easiest ways to disseminate disinformation.

Social media literacy in Africa is hard to achieve, since social media are just a tool. In order to deal with literacy, we have to see how people behave and communicate. People first need to understand the communication, learn to respect other persons and the behavior behind their actions. Social media literacy needs to be dealt with on a behavioral way and it´s correlated to info, ethics and aspects of professionalism.

“Social media is a reflection of its society.”

Social media enhance open spaces for freedom of expression without which democracy is meaningless. On social media you will face both correct information and disinformation. It should be our duty to fact check the content and provide accurate information in a suitable context. But social media can’t be stopped in the name of safeguarding democracy as that’s counterproductive. There needs to be regulations so that the multinationals owning social media platforms should operate within acceptable international human rights standards. Social media highlight real issues that happen in our societies.

“Social media has given a voice to all the players of democracy.”

Speakers:

Aurra Nicole Kawanzaruwa is a creative digital native with a broad portfolio of experience.

Haruna Kanaabi has practiced journalism for more than 25 years.

Admire Kudita is a multimedia journalist based in Zimbabwe.

Moderator
Nikolas Panagiotou, Associate Professor at Aristotle University, Head of DCN Global

This event was co-organized by the Digital Communication Network Global, DCN Africa and World Learning and is part of a series of virtual events launched in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. The series aims to engage digital communities globally, to promote accurate information, combat distortions, encourage responsible behavior, and discourage panic, support mitigation of a global pandemic, and avoid major societal disruptions.

DCN Global is a consortium of non-profits, public and private organizations and companies involved in the fields of digital communication, social impact campaigns, technology, and innovation. It is a unique, interdisciplinary coalition tapping into the best talent and resources across Europe. DCN Global is supported by the U.S. Department of State Office of Citizen Exchanges.