FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers New TRADE AFRICA New

Fortune Logo
The problem is not with the platforms in as much as it is with the political communications culture that is largely devoid of civility.

In the 2010s, Ethiopia, along with the rest of the world, learned the hard way that the astounding technological improvement in the exchange of information exacts a terrible cost. Facebook, YouTube and Telegram may be free to access, but the cost they exact on socio-political relationships is devastating.


Rarely has a weapon as fantastic for political mobilisation emerged throughout human history. It has been unprecedented in its ability to create political polarisation and propagate misinformation and disinformation to a wide section of the population within minutes. Ethiopia’s experience with this has been no different, with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube playing the frontline roles in the dissemination of inflammatory rhetoric. The problem is not with the platforms in as much as it is with the political communications culture that is largely devoid of civility.




PUBLISHED ON Jan 05,2020 [ VOL 20 , NO 1028]

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.



Related Posts

[ssba-buttons]

Put your comments here

N.B: A submit button will appear once you fill out all the required fields.

Editors' Pick

Exclusive Interviews

State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices

Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW

Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...

Agenda

Rising Costs, Inflation Threaten Insurance Industry

Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO

Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...

Agenda

BREWING DISCONTENT

Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW

Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...

Fortune News

Electric Vehicle Push Leaves Investors in the Lurch

Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO

Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...

Commentaries

Getting Debt Sustainability Right in Developing Countries

A slowing global economy, rising trade tensions, and increased risks of recession co...

Foreign Aid Looks Good Now That It's Gone

When Joni Mitchell sang the line "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know wha...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

A Country on Life Support Must Not Neglect Its Healers

May 24 , 2025

Public hospitals have fallen eerily quiet lately. Corridors once crowded with patient...

Researchers Churn Out Studies by the Ton. Quality Checks are Causality

May 17 , 2025

Ethiopia pours more than three billion Birr a year into academic research, yet too mu...

Ethiopia's Aid Reckoning Demands a Homegrown Rescue Plan

May 10 , 2025

Federal legislators recently summoned Shiferaw Teklemariam (PhD), head of the Disaste...

When Pension Funds Nap Inflation Steals the Blanket

May 3 , 2025

Pensioners have learned, rather painfully, the gulf between a figure on a passbook an...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

The Subtler African Stories Lodged in Luxury

Every family has its ritual, one that bookmarks the year and brings everyone back to...

Drowning in Someone's Storm

Friendship is supposed to be a two-way street; a bond built on mutual respect, trust, and support. But when that dynamic shift, and the frie...

Life Matters

Healing the Healers

Reliable information about the recent strike by health professionals in Ethiopia has proven elusive. The public discourse is muddied by sens...

Gambling on Survival

Sometimes it feels like the world has turned into a high-stakes lottery. The kind where everyone is expected to become a millionaire overnig...