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Social media-driven violence is a reality

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Koketso Moeti
Koketso Moeti

It was widely reported that WhatsApp was being used as a tool to spread lies, propaganda and disinformation ahead of Brazil’s fiercely contested presidential elections early last month.

These efforts have sparked fresh worries about the effect of social media and messaging services on democracies.

While it is not completely clear what the effect is, backers of far-right president elect Jair Bolsonaro are believed to be behind the campaign.

Outright false information, edited videos and doctored images were used as part of this campaign.

But this isn’t just dangerous for democracy – people’s lives are being put in danger.

When lies, disinformation and propaganda spread on social media and messaging services, individuals face real harm.

In August, it was confirmed that military personnel in Myanmar were behind a shadowy Facebook campaign that drove the genocide of the ethnic minority Rohingya people.

What appeared to be harmless celebrity and entertainment news on Facebook pages, followed by more than 12 million people, was used to push this covert campaign.

This led to ordinary people inadvertently spreading the anti-Rohingya propaganda, which included doctored photos and incitements to violence.

This contributed to what a top UN human rights official described as “textbook ethnic cleansing”.

This kind of social media-driven violence, which often succeeds in drawing in unsuspecting users, is not unique to Myanmar.

In May, five people in India were killed in what has been dubbed “WhatsApp lynchings”.

These mob vigilante attacks are linked to the spread of misinformation via WhatsApp, which was driven by false stories of organ harvesting and child abductions.

Since April, at least 17 such killings have been reported.

In response to the killings, the messaging service announced that it would be limiting the number of times a message could be forwarded in India.

It also removed the “quick-forwarding” function in an effort to stop people from very swiftly forwarding fake images, doctored videos and misinformation to large groups at once, which is often how killings are triggered.

Of course, not all of the disinformation and online hoaxes result in deaths, but they can still endanger people and fuel already existing prejudices.

This was evident when photos of injured federal police officers in Mexico were sent alongside false claims that migrants were responsible for injuring them.

Pressure on social media giant Facebook, which is the parent company of WhatsApp, forced it to take action against the spread of false information.

Facebook announced an expansion of its fact-checking programme involving “27 partners from 17 countries”.

Its work will include fact-checking visuals that are used to push a political agenda, such as doctored images and videos.

While the pressure on these kinds of companies must continue, especially in light of revelations that Facebook itself was at the helm of a campaign discrediting its critics, individual users also have a role to play.

Unlike Facebook, which is a public space, only those who send and receive WhatsApp messages are exposed to them.

In an effort to address privacy concerns, the instant messaging service now also automatically encrypts all messages sent via the platform, meaning they are not accessible to anyone outside of the communication – including WhatsApp itself.

This means users have a greater responsibility to ensure that they are sharing verified information.

One easy way to do this is to check the source of images and videos before forwarding messages to large groups.

There are many resources available to make this task easier – TinEye and Google Images can identify the source of images within seconds.

There are also user-friendly fact-checking services such as Africa Check, which also offers tips for individual users about how to verify information.

While it may seem like a lot of “work” is required before forwarding a post or image to relative strangers, friends and loved ones, it is important to remember that misinformation can put a person’s safety and life at risk.

Of course, social media and instant messaging services are not always used to disseminate false information.

While we aren’t always going to get it right, it is important to try, especially because misinformation is often targeting the marginalised in their respective societies.

Lives should not be sacrificed because we are in a rush to press the “forward” and “share” buttons.

Moeti has a background in civic activism, and worked at the intersection of governance, communication and citizen action.

She is an inaugural Obama Foundation Fellow and a 2017 Aspen New Voices Fellow. Follow her on Twitter at @Kmoeti

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