We are living in a special age of technological advancement and communication. The various social media have taken over that traditional mainstream media. Journals and newspapers are being undermined by the spread of this modern technological breakthrough. Lately, we are also faced with the phenomenon of artificial intelligence AI which can be used for positive outcomes but also misused leading to incalculably negative outcomes.
Traditional media houses and professional journalists are being overwhelmed by the so-called citizen journalism where anyone has the possibility and means to film, write and post any kind of happenings in day-to-day life. Anything that happens in the world is being posted on various social media but even more, than Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter (which now has been re-branded as X), the phenomenon TikTok has spread like wildfire with millions being clients and subscribers and participants of this social network. What is more, it has given opportunity for millions to acquire some form of employment that can guarantee decent income and livelihood.
The spread of social media has its positive sides because a lot of precious information could very easily and speedily be disseminated and shared with the entire world in no time or even in real-time, at times live. Certain incidents in any part of the world could be reached and avoid further damage or warn people to beware and keep them away from eventual damages such as a fire that breaks at some place, an inundation in a certain area or a traffic jam due to an accident etc.
Social media have also helped many people find friends and even result in engagements that have ended up in marriages or defeat loneliness by exchanging information or engaging in friendly conversations with like-minded people. Above all any kind of news is conveyed to the subscribers in no time anticipating even the well-established, reputable, fast and reliable mainstream media.
However, there is one very important weakness in the use of social media, especially when it comes to certain individuals or firms that disseminate false information or advise people to do what they should but because they are taking advantage of their innocence or naivety. Some people try to earn improper income by spreading false and sensational or exaggerated information.
As social media do not have editors and the platform is free to everybody’s use, people tend to take advantage of this freedom; the consequences could be dangerous and harmful. There is no way to recover the expenses eventually incurred by these social media clients.
True, the government and the users of social media themselves keep on warning to make a reality check on the creation of information to avoid damages not only material but also psychological. People could be affected very negatively in their lives. At times the result could be even tragic due to false and invented information.
However, the most dangerous of all these media users is the fact that they use misinformation, false information or ambiguous ones to lead people to do things they otherwise would never even think of doing. These social media users can invent certain stories and use them to malicious ends, particularly in political objectives and matters that can have the effect of leading people to unwanted and dangerous acts. The fact that these media spread in no time, it is also very easy to appeal to the emotions of people and make them react negatively. This is a challenge for many governments. There are certain social media which are twenty-four hours active in conveying damning information against whichever government they oppose and trying to mobilize as many people as possible to come out in protest against the government in question.
Social media nowadays are very important actors in influencing and at times becoming even determinants in the outcome of elections by siding this way or that one. We have seen many states using social media to convey their political policies to the public. At the same time, certain social media are used to transmit very extreme and militant views against the existing establishment and the stability of nations. The message is spread by social media and used to radicalize particularly youths who are exposed to these media. Many people rely on information they obtain easily from the social media to which they are associated closely or have subscribed to. They trust blindly these outlets and would not accept different views.
The most dangerous of all is however the spread of hate speech, hateful statements that are disseminated against a certain group of people just because they belong to that group or are associated with it. In societies such as ours where there are disparities among the population, expressing hate speech against a certain community is very dangerous because it incites to be engaged in certain statements and eventually become a time bomb due to unpredictable reactions.
Violence could very easily explode and lead to civil conflict. Hate speech can be used even in certain private electronic media such as what happened during the Rwandan genocide of 1994 that cost the lives of 800,000 people targeting them on the grounds of belonging to this race, ethnic origin, and language or religious group. The media continued to spread hate speech against the Tutsi for months calling them ‘cockroaches’ and killing them was justified.
History tells us that during the Nazi Germany administration in the nineteen twenties and thirties, the nationalist government was engaged in continuous negative propaganda and hate speech and attempt to justify the extermination of Jews in the Holocaust and those who sided with them. The assertions made by Nazi Germany or the hate speech disseminated by the Hutu-led government against the Tutsi community has led to mark one of the most devastating and shameful episodes in the history of mankind.
Today with the spread of hate speech even in very modernized, sophisticated and fast means, the consequences could also be very damning and a huge risk of leading to civil wars. It has a huge effect of destabilizing societies and governments are very much anxious about the long-term outcomes of the spread of hate speech.
In the case of Ethiopia, we have seen the fast spread of hate speech without any reasonable ground or generalizing an act or crime committed by someone even possibly a crazy individual make a sweeping generalization at the expense of every member of that ethnic group or nationality. Responses are also given to such hate speech by others in an attempt to settle accounts. A dangerous vicious circle is thus created with alarming consequences and politically this has the potential of resulting in unwanted election outcomes basing things not on ideas or policies but on belongingness to this or that group.
UNESCO has been very much worried about the spread of hate speech and has been trying to devise a strategy to contain and eliminate it. Here in Ethiopia the government has been advising and warning that people should refrain from resorting to hate speech and misinformation because it is very dangerous in inciting violence and eroding the fundamental social fabric of harmonious life that has been a fact of Ethiopian communities’ life. These recent dangerous narratives and rhetoric are very dangerous and contribute to the formation of a time bomb with unforeseeable consequences.
People should learn from the experience of other nations such as Rwanda remains one of the worst acts that humans could do to other humans most of whom were their neighbors and people who lived side by side for years sharing and exchanging favors and courtesies in harmony and peace.
Hate speech is dangerous because it can very easily appeal to the emotions of people and the result can only be negative and even catastrophic. Some may try to justify all this as an expression of freedom of speech but this cannot be defended with legal provisions because there are punishments the law provides against those who resort to hate speech and misinformation that can incite people to engage in violence and destabilize communities. The easy spread of modern technological inventions may have exacerbated the issue in its negative aspect but we can also use these modern means to foster peace and harmony among people by using them to provide useful information and advice to people.
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2024
