Tanzanian government stifles the rights Tanzanians by blocking social Media sites on election eve

Internet access in itself is a clear indication of how transparent a government is with easy and constant access by citizens to important government information. Government transparency, is vital for good governance as well as the perception by citizens that the government is trustworthy. However, many local governments suffer from a lack of transparency.

Surfers in Tanzania have been facing difficulties in the use of social media applications ahead of Wednesday’s (Oct. 28) election, days after the state issued a directive restricting text messaging within the country. This builts on earlier legislation outlawing international press from covering developments in the country without local media partnerships.

The presidential and parliamentary election in Tanzania on Wednesday was tense, given the allegations of human rights abuses and killings leveled by opposition politicians against incumbent president John Magufuli’s government. A few hours ahead of the vote, as many as 42 opposition activists had been arrested in the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar. It comes amid claims security forces had killed nine people as protests broke out over voting procedures which opposition parties claim could be used to manipulate results of the poll in incumbent Magufuli’s favor.

Against this backdrop, the most influential and affordable communications platforms in Tanzania were either been blocked or restricted. Access Now and Netblocks confirmed the blockade of Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.

The throttling of social media platforms added to a Saturday directive by the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority under which it ordered telecom companies in the country to suspend bulk SMS and bulk voice communications as well as individual text messages with keywords around Wednesday’s election until Nov. 11.

Tanzania has cited the need to “ensure safe and secure electronic communication services” for the decision to stop bulk SMS messages although Access Now, which advocates for free digital communications, is emphasizing this decision has left “millions without effective communication tools” across Tanzania and ahead of the elections.

Pedmia Shatu Tita 

Social media and the spread of gruesome images

Gruesome images since the wake of violence due to the ongoing war in Cameroon has been displayed on several platforms. While some share for sensitization and awareness, others are doing so to show their might. What burns more is that someone would package these photographs together and that others would share them. Sure, some images are taken by professional journalists on the job, but most disturbing are the amateur snapshots taken by unprofessionals. Trying to horrify us? Not cool. Demoralize us? Done. Perpetuate cruelty? Not okay! Whatever the intention for sharing, we must all know the implications it has on the brain of the viewers.

Social media users must understand the implication and effects of the images they share online asking questions like what about a particular image makes it ripe for sharing? People who are not professional journalists upload much of gruesome content. It’s unmediated and free to stream across the internet. A major problem arises when these images jump outside  their original context. Not only does that practice open the door to resharing false information, but it transports graphic material that had a specific purpose: to energize, enrage, or educate a particular community.

The case of Kumba on the 24th of October is a glaring understanding of this context. We have seen horrible images of school children being killed in schools shared online with these kids lying in their own pull of blood. These images were captured and shared without taking into consideration the effects on the family and other surfers now and in decades to come. The sharing of such images poses so much psychological distress and trauma.

It's time for social media platforms to review their community standards and check if the content spread on this particular issue feeds within the eligibility criteria of their content liberty fronts. But we should avoid scapegoating the big platforms. All of them (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Snapchat) are signed up to the European Commission’s #NoPlace4Hate programme. They are committed to removing illegal hateful content within 24 hours, a time period which is likely to come down to just one hour.

Aside from anything else, they are aware of the reputational risks of being associated with terrorism and other harmful content (such as pornography, suicide, paedophilia) and are increasingly devoting considerable resources to removing it. Within 24 hours of the Christchurch attack, Facebook had banned 1.5m versions of the attack video of which 1.2m it stopped from being uploaded at all.

Monitoring hateful content is always difficult and even the most advanced systems accidentally miss some. But during terrorist attacks the big platforms face particularly significant challenges. As research has shown, terrorist attacks precipitate huge spikes in online hate, overrunning platforms’ reporting systems. Lots of the people who upload and share this content also know how to deceive the platforms and get round their existing checks.

Indeed it isn't any bad thing to show solidarity with the affected families but looking beyond the now to see that in the future these memories are not revisited just by a click on the internet with painful images will go a long way to downplay the horrible effects on their brain and mental health as a whole.

Pedmia Shatu Tita

Conflict Sensitive Journalism is not a technique, it is a philosophy and should provide a counter narrative in conflict reporting Eugene Nforngwa of AKPC tells Journalists at a Media4Peace training

Participants being drilled

Gathered for 3 days in a Media4Peace training dubbed "Catalyzing Media for Peace and Justice in Cameroon", some 25 journalists, bloggers, and freelancers from the Northwest Region exchanged notes of Conflict sensitive reporting, Peace Journalism, Fact-Checking, Hatespeech, Fake news to name but these.

These journalists were brought together by Defyhatenow a youth led organization aim at responding to issues related to conflict with peaceful approaches and defying hate. At the opening the country Director for Defyhatenow Cameroon said the workshop aims at strengthening the capacity of media men and women residing in conflict prone societies to use their various handles to promote Peace and de-escalate tension.

Desmond Ngala, Country Director Defyhatenow Cameroon

Facilitating the three days workshop was lead facilitator Eugene Nforngwa of the African Knowledge and Policy Center AKPC who challenged journalists to minimize the negative impact of their work on the crisis and maximize the positive impact of their work on the crisis. He said that Conflict sensitive Journalism should not be understood as a technique rather it should be considered a philosophy that will help counter the narrative of conflict reporting.

Eugene Nforngwa, African Knowledge and Policy Center

Taking into consideration that the mass media is critical in shaping beliefs, behaviors and public policy, Eugene said journalists should be accurate and truthful in presenting their facts. He furthered that violence comes as a result of conflict and that most forms of violence are suffered in silence. He urged journalists to understand the conflict they are covering because a journalist cannot cover a conflict they know nothing about. He mentioned early signs of conflict as being grumbling, change and resistance. With this understanding,  Eugene told Journalists to cover all sides of the story and give room for conflicting parties to air their minds which could bring possible solutions to conflict.

‘Hate Speech’ is is a catalyst for potential conflict and equally a consequence of conflict. Abong Babey Blaise the co-facilitator said ‘the use of certain languages that may appear not to have consequences but gain symbolic grounds, the use of ethno-regional stereotypes or gender tags that create feelings of alienation and exasperation should be avoided by journalists as well as the fact that free speech could lead to hate speech being when people feel they can say anything without thinking of the effect intended or unintended.." 

Abong Blaise Bebey

One of journalism's core principles is information verification otherwise known as Fact-Checking. Eugene said journalists must watch out for who has and does not have the expertise to answer questions in a particular situation, how the evidence was collected, reliability of the source not forgetting to check if the sources have conflict of interest on the subject matter. So "journalists should filter information that promotes hate speech and flame the national debate’’. No one source is right in Fact-Checking and journalists must avoid using anonymous sources when verifying information,  Eugene ended.

Participants at the workshop attested it was an engaging 3days. "The 3day workshop was imparting. I say so because it was timely and the knowledge received will act as a working tool when it comes to conflict sensitive reporting. As a journalist I learnt we should report with facts and precision,Be professional when reporting,cover all sides of the story,always make sure those in conflict have their say.The journalist should be inclusive ,avoid hate speech and spinning." Ndong Carine a free lancer tells Theinsider237. 

Ndong Carine, free lancer journalist

Neba Jerome of the Herald Tribune newspaper said "It was one of those workshops triggered the level of practice in me which made me to understand that my reports can shot doors to portail conflicts. A workshop so enriching that made me to understand as well that there are several sides to a story and with this my attitude towards writing articles change immediately when that word was mentioned. A lot of things like defying hate speech and making policy makers acts rightly. It was a workshop of its and I say attending the workshop for three days was just like an entire semester course."

Neba Jerome, The Herald Tribune newspaper 

"The workshop was a very nice and enriching one. The facilitators had so much knowledge in them that the topics treated were well understood." Tantsn Patience of CBS radio tells Theinsider237. 

Tantan Patience,CBS Radio Bamenda

I left the workshop with so much  knowledge on conflict reporting sensitive reporting, how to report in a conflict zone, hate speech and fact checking." Tantan Patience of CBS Radio Bamenda. 

Pedmia Shatu Tita