Event rapporteur: Social media in Sierra Leone

Event summary and description

On February 18, 2015 the Key Spiritual Life Human Rights Defender series hosted N’yelai Rogers, a fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Her talk was entitled Harnessing Social Media to Combat Corruption in Sierra Leone. However, her presentation focused little on the use of social media and more on the legal atmosphere in Sierra Leone in relation to the struggles that women face, as well as the disproportional impacts of the Ebola virus on women.

Rogers shared personal accounts of the lives of women in Sierra Leone as a woman who was raised in a polygamous household and her work with Advocaid, a human rights group that defends wrongly convicted, incarcerated women on death row in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Through these experiences she noted the prevalence of violence and sexual abuse against women and the shame and stigma associated with speaking out. She explained that even though there are now laws in place to address these growing concerns, implementing them are still a challenge. Additionally, Rogers described how the Ebola epidemic is disproportionately impacting women in Sierra Leone through their roles as caregivers and nurses.

The social media component did not come out until the Q&A. When asked about how social media plays into these discussions she shared that this is her current research at NED, however the research is in the very early stage. The research aims to look at how utilizing social media can help overcome barriers that citizens face when addressing corruption. Globally, she hopes that using social media may be able to engage a wider audience to bring light to the ways that a weak and corrupt legal system impact women and children in Sierra Leone. Despite a lack of high speed internet, she estimates that 90% of youth in Sierra Leone have mobile phones, and the number of people on social media is increasing. The Ebola epidemic is an example of the heightened use of social media in Sierra Leone. During the peak weeks of the epidemic, Rogers received WhatsApp messages daily regarding Ebola updates in the country. Even in rural areas, the use of WhatsApp has been significant for disseminating information about Ebola, such as sharing which areas to avoid. However, one danger with this quick sharing mechanism is that the information is not always correct or reviewed. For example, a widely shared WhatsApp message advised people to bath in salt water as a means of immunity to the virus. Another added complexity to communication and civil society in Sierra Leone is a libel law that carries a sentence of seven years in jail if found guilty. Rogers notes that this has deterred some social activism.

Connections to class and critique

            From these examples of the use of social media during the height of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, we see that important information can spread quickly through informal networks. This use of social media is strengthening both regional and global networks by connecting more people. This is especially useful for getting information to rural areas. Looking at using WhatsApp and other social media among diverse audiences for disseminating Ebola information could be viewed as a polycentric network in that there is not a clear person or entity in charge. From Rogers’ example, it is also evident that there are dangers with using social media. Spreading false information could be more dangerous than not sharing information at all. This idea of rapidly disseminated false information is one that we have not discussed much in class.

While the presentation mostly touched on the potential benefits of using social media in Sierra Leone, I was curious what others might think. This recent opinion piece from a Sierra Leonean news outlet highlights not only the spread of misinformation in the way of hoaxes, but also how WhatsApp perhaps can fuel more corruptions, slander, and cultural tensions and violence (Jalloh, 2015). I acknowledge that this article is one-sided, however it does serve as a reminder of other challenges that may increase with social media use.   

It was disappointing that the heart of the presentation not did focus on the use of social media in Sierra Leone, and the talk would have benefitted from a stronger explanation and discussion of its role. A more robust analysis that included examining other social media platforms would have been interesting to understand which ones might be more viable and for which segments of the population. Additionally, as Rogers mentioned, not all information spread via social media is correct. Her opinion on how to control the spread of misinformation would have been valuable. Moreover, Rogers contends that mobile technology and social media use is rising, especially among youth and rural areas. I would have liked to hear more about those who do not have access to these technologies or choose not to participate. Additionally, insight on how social media is used to increase global awareness and raise funds for Ebola relief would have been a nice complement to how it is being used on the ground. Finally, a projection on the diffusion of mobile technology and social media platforms in Sierra Leone would be interesting to have a better idea on the future outlook of using these new technologies.

Works cited:

Jalloh, A.R. (2015, January 23). Evil use of WhatsApp in Sierra Leone. The Patriotic

Vanguard. Retrieved from http://www.thepatrioticvanguard.com/evil-use-of-whatsapp-in-sierra-leone