Social media abuse and social unrest

THE coming in of new media which is largely a result of internet and global technological advancement has brought with it ease of communication with the world at a relatively cheap price. However, if not monitored, the internet and the resultant social media platforms can easily be manipulated to cause socio-political activation meant to unseat democratically elected governments.

Ghannam (2011) posits that mobile phones and new technology continue to play an inspiring and remarkable task in reaching and pursuing people internationally. Although talking about abrupt social change might be too optimistic and quite unworkable, it should be acknowledged that mobile telephone and the spread of the use of social media in socio-political related issues is giving the source for steady and long term social changes.

Already people feel increasingly comfortable in taking action because of the power embedded in these tools. Distances have been reduced and times have been restrained. While arranging a revolution used to involve years of personal and secret meetings on a small scale in the past, today events like those we have witnessed can be managed just in a few days.

It is therefore growth in communication technology that has compressed the globe making it so small as to fit in a child’s palm bringing into effect the popularised global village concept. The concept of globalisation intimates that the world has become as small as a village due to the continued development of technology as people can interact freely in the comfort of their houses, offices or wherever they will be using the various social media platforms at their disposal with the furthest parts of the world with a few swipes on their smart phones.

Internet has replaced other traditional forms of communication although it has its fair share of controversies that can be linked to the political and economic benefits of where the internet originated. And like any other form of communication the internet and all other social media platforms are not immune to theories that define the sender’s objective and the receiver’s response as well as the general understanding of the social media.

Although the sum total of it all from a sincere user is to enhance communication efficiency at a less cost and probably bring the world closer, appreciation differs from one user to another and as in any good invention the internet and all its off springs if abused can cause a lot of regrettable damages.

One therefore needs to look closely at globalisation and question whether it is simply the benevolence of America to give the world communication platforms and make the world one small village at no greater advantage to it.

A school of thought that cannot be wished away suggests that by advancing communication technology and spreading it to the world and Africa as a whole which has become a big consumer of American inventions, America is simply advancing its dominance by propagating its culture in small and gullible states thereby furthering its imperialist intentions on Africa.

Yes, the world has through communication technology become a global village whose village head is America, argue scholars who have read into the sinister intentions of America. Although Africa should be careful not to behave like a stepchild who reads too much of bad intentions in whatever the stepmother does, history has taught the continent that there is little sincerity in whatever America does in the short or long term scheme of things both politically, economically or technologically. Africa has been taught to look even a gift horse in the mouth, for when a lion plays with a zebra’s cub it is definitely looking for friendship.

The introduction of internet that brought about the many forms of social media through which messages are generated and sent to various recipients around the globe who can receive them at once has therefore made it easy to advance social cohesion, a spirit of commonness, oneness as well as making it easy to cross-pollinate ideas while on the leeside it can be used to advance terror, disharmony, cause alarm, despondency and even insurrection.

Examples of social media abuse and the sad results are there for all to see. It was social media that was largely responsible for fanning revolts and social unrest in North Africa’s Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt where networks formed online were crucial in organising a core group of activists. Civil society leaders in the Arab countries emphasized the role of “the internet, mobile phones, and social media” in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. And up to now some of the Arab countries have not fully recovered and stabilised.

The general populace of the North African countries were mobilised, incited and controlled through social media platforms to revolt against their governments. That, however, serves as a lesson to Governments that if not managed properly social media has the potential to threaten sovereign governments and national security.

In Zimbabwe the negatives of social media have manifested themselves in so many national events where saboteurs hijack at times somewhat genuine grievances to cause serious national security threats.

The period towards the 2018 harmonised elections were characterised by various forms of misinformation peddled by social media where individuals originate messages of hate and violence against political opponents and it took a proactive approach by the police and the Government to dispel all the fictitious information meant to cause either alarm or despondency.

After that came the period after elections when results were first announced by social media. The opposition did not help matters as they elevated the misinformation that led to protests fuelled by social media that led to the death of six people.

As if that was not enough, a wave of accidents that hit the country was also mishandled by social media users where there seemed to be competition on who will be first with the pictures leading to serious statistical misinformation about accident injuries and deaths. All that led to unnecessary societal panic.

This was followed on Monday last week by the stay away that was called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) purpotedly over the increase in fuel prices and the failure by Government to adjust salaries, to match the continued soaring of commodity prices that was hijacked by saboteurs and through social media led to massive destruction of property and looting.

The level of misinformation created not only panic but a serious threat to national security as schools were closed while millions were lost in property and infrastructure destruction.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa called on the country to ensure that there was regulation of the information systems to avoid abuse by social misfits bend on misinforming the country to cause acts of terror.

“It is abundantly clear that we need to invest more in information systems so that our people can benefit from the positive aspects of information, yet at the same time, we also need to deploy means to regulate and manage information for the good and safety of our society,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

She said the country was working on a Cyber Bill.

“Zimbabwe is working on a Cyber Bill which has passed the Cabinet Committee on legislation and is about to be tabled in Parliament for adoption,” she said.

“The Bill seeks to guide the formulation of a Zimbabwe Cyber Policy that will ensure that internet and related technologies are used for the good of society, not to violate national security.”

Minister Mutsvangwa said in managing and regulating information, integrated Information Communication Technology platforms were needed. This, she said, would assist in denying the means to those threatening the State using social media.

“This calls for continuous virtual information flow monitoring so that strategies to remove the negative effects of the information revolution from harming our society are always being formulated on a need basis,” she said.

It, however, remains not subject to argument that although the protests and demonstrations that punctuated the country for the better part of last week just like the Arab revolts were not caused by social media but by political forces bent on regime change, social media was used as an essential tool through which messages were relayed to oil, mobilise, organise, control and perhaps be the matchstick that lit the bonfire in a political situation that could have been controlled without people resorting to violence.

One will not have missed the point to say that the political situation last week was never one that could have exploded to levels that were witnessed but misinformation through social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook led people to react the way they did.

And regrettably it impacted negatively on their own lives as they are now suffering having to travel to town and queue to buy basic commodities which they could easily access at township shops that were destroyed in the melee caused by a sponsored economic saboteur hand that one cannot fail to see.

Minister Mutsvangwa posited that while the proliferation of information had led to great strides in human development, it had brought serious challenges to national security.

“Terrorism, which is hinged on using violence to instil fear to advance a particular cause in society, is equally taking advantage of the developments that have taken place in the information revolution,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

She said terrorist organisations use social media to destabilise nations.

“Terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) have used the information revolution, in particular the notion of citizen journalism and social networks to propagate narrow ideas on religious fundamentalism, Satanism, bellicose and other hedonistic and retrogressive practices that threaten the well-being of the modern State,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.