Hate Speech and Misinformation in Ethiopia
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Venue: Online via Zoom
Hate speech, misinformation, and fake news have thrived in the Ethiopian media ecosystem, and particularly online. This is strongly correlated with significant, tragic, real-world events.
During times of instability, hate speech and misinformation contributed to violence and conflict, for example in the June 2019 regional coup attempt in Amhara, the clashes in Mota in December 2019, and the violence in Oromia in October 2019 and June/July 2020. The conflict in Tigray that started in November 2020 gave rise to another wave of misinformation. Often this has resulted in internet shutdowns – sometimes limited in scope, at other times cutting communications across Ethiopia.