Mali is the Latest African Country to Impose a Social Media Blackout
By Lily Kuo|
It hasn’t been a good week for internet freedom in Africa, with three countries imposing social media blackouts, according to the campaign Keep it On.
Internet users in Bamako, Mali reported not being able to use Facebook and Twitter after protests against the detention of a popular radio host on Wednesday (Aug. 17) turned violent, resulting in three deaths.
Alert: WhatsApp blocked in #Gambia since 11am today, about 3months to Pres elections @internetlibre @dwmnews_africa
Switching off social media doesn’t always work. Protesters in Zimbabwecontinued to mobilize last month despite a WhatsApp blackout, in what have continued to be the biggest demonstrations the country has seen since contested elections in 2008.
And some leaders are acknowledging the risks, and futility, of these actions. Ghana’s president John Dramani Mahama said this week that social media would remain on in the run-up to the country’s general election in November, despite the inspector general of police urging a shutdown on voting day to bar “misleading information that could destabilize the country.”
This information was first published by Quartz Africa on 17th August 2016.
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