HYPOCRISY AND FALLACY OF SOCIAL MEDIA FREEDOM ON NATIONAL SECURITY: MIRRORING THE 2021 TRUMP BLOCKAGE AGAINST SELECTED AFRICAN CASES

Yıl 2021, , 361 - 376, 25.09.2021

Blessing Simura

https://doi.org/10.30520/tjsosci.972872

Öz

Social media are praised as arenas for free speech which came with emancipation and reversing authoritarian governments control of media. This article compares and contrasts the hypocrisy of the alleged promotion of free speech in Africa and the global South and denying it to Trump and his supporters in the USA when the messages had comparatively the same effects of fomenting ‘public disorder’ in the name of free speech. Using Facebook and Twitter as the case social media platforms of analysis, the paper critically reviewed literature related to the subject. It is observable that social media has often times promoted the circulation of violent and protest foment information in the global South, and regarded this as emancipatory and democratic. Whereas, in the global North, more specifically, by focusing on the 2020 USA’s contested Presidential election, it is noted that social media companies quickly stepped in to block Donald Trump statements deemed to ignite political insurrection and glorification of violence. What we then observe is the hypocritical nature of social media platforms and a continued perpetuation of the centre- periphery prism hinged on maintain a hegemonic force on the global South states that do not own and control the social media platforms.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Social Media, National Security, Donald Trump, Uprisings, Media Freedom

HYPOCRISY AND FALLACY OF SOCIAL MEDIA FREEDOM ON NATIONAL SECURITY: MIRRORING THE 2021 TRUMP BLOCKAGE AGAINST SELECTED AFRICAN CASES

Öz

Social media are praised as arenas for free speech which came with emancipation and reversing authoritarian governments control of media. This article compares and contrasts the hypocrisy of the alleged promotion of free speech in Africa and the global South and denying it to Trump and his supporters in the USA when the messages had comparatively the same effects of fomenting ‘public disorder’ in the name of free speech. Using Facebook and Twitter as the case social media platforms of analysis, the paper critically reviewed literature related to the subject. It is observable that social media has often times promoted the circulation of violent and protest foment information in the global South, and regarded this as emancipatory and democratic. Whereas, in the global North, more specifically, by focusing on the 2020 USA’s contested Presidential election, it is noted that social media companies quickly stepped in to block Donald Trump statements deemed to ignite political insurrection and glorification of violence. What we then observe is the hypocritical nature of social media platforms and a continued perpetuation of the centre- periphery prism hinged on maintain a hegemonic force on the global South states that do not own and control the social media platforms.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Socal Media, National Security, Media Freedom, Uprisings, Donald Trump

Kaynakça

• Akhavan-Majid, R. (1991), “American Mass Media and the Myth of Libertarianism: Toward an ‘Elite Power Group’ Theory,” Mass Communication Faculty Publications, St. Cloud State University, Vol. 10, pp. 1-14, accessed 29 January 2021, https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=comm_facpubs
• Aljazeera, (2019), “Zimbabwe Imposes Internet Shutdown amid Crackdown on Protests,” 18 January, accessed 29 January 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/1/18/zimbabwe-imposes-internet-shutdown-amid-crackdown-on-protests
• Alterman, J. B. (2011), “The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted,” The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 34(4), pp. 103-116
• Barrett, T. Raju, M. and Foran, C. (2020), “Top Republicans Defend Trump on Baseless Voter Fraud Claims as Concerns Grow in the Ranks,” CNN, 6 November, accessed 26 January 2021, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/05/politics/election-2020-congressional-republicans-trump-election-fraud/index.html
• Beaumont, P. (2011), “The Truth about Twitter, Facebook and the Uprisings in the Arab World,” The Guardian, 25 February, accessed 13 January 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/25/twitter-facebook-uprisings-arab-libya
• Bior, A. (2019), “Sudan’s Social Media Deemed Major Player in Bashir’s Ouster,” Voice of America, 18 April, accessed 29 January 2021, https://www.voanews.com/archive/sudans-social-media-deemed-major-player-bashirs-ouster
• Broadwater, L. (2021), “Pence Welcomes Futile Bid by GOP Lawmakers to Overturn Election,” The New York Times, 2 January 2021, accessed 12 January 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/us/politics/gop-senators-josh-hawley-election.html
• Charette, R. N. (2019), “Zimbabwe Government Blocks Internet to Suppress Protests, Cuts Power as a Result,” Spectrum, 17 January, accessed 30 January 2021, https://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/telecom/internet/zimbabwe-government-cuts-internet-to-suppress-fuel-price-protests
• Chazan, G., Foy, H. and Murphy, H. (2021), “Angela Merkel Attacks Twitter over Trump Ban,” Financial Times, 11 January, accessed 20 January 2021, https://www.ft.com/content/6146b352-6b40-48ef-b10b-a34ad585b91a
• Danspeckgruber, W. (2011), “Introduction,” in Social Media Revolutions: All Hype or New Reality? Liechtenstein Institute on Self Determination, Princeton University, Princeton, pp. 3
• Elmileik, A. and Khalil, S. (2019), “‘Tasgut bas’ to #SudanUprising: How Social Media Told the Story,” Aljazeera, 12 August, accessed 29 January 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2019/8/12/tasgut-bas-to-sudanuprising-how-social-media-told-the-story
• Evelyn, K. (2021), “Capitol Attack: The Five People who Died,” The Guardian, 8 January, accessed 30 January 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/08/capitol-attack-police-officer-five-deaths
• Facebook (Online), “Community Standards: Violence and Criminal Bahaviour,” accessed 26 January 2021, https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards/violence_criminal_behavior
• Foss, A. B. (2012), “The Libyan Rebellion: With Media as a Weapon; A Study of a Modern Insurgency’s Effort to Influence International Media,” Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Oslo, May
• Fox News Poll, (2020), Conducted 2-9 December and partly released on 11 December, accessed 26 January 2021, https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2020/12/Fox_December-6-9-2020_National_Topline_December-11-Release.pdf
• Gladwell, M. (2010), “Small Change: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted,” The New Yorker, 27 September, accessed 14 January 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/04/small-change-malcolm-gladwell
• Goodman, R. Dugas, M. and Tonckens, N. (2021), “Incitement Timeline: Year of Trump’s Actions Leading to the Attack on the Capitol,” Just Security, 11 January, accessed 29 January 2021, https://www.justsecurity.org/74138/incitement-timeline-year-of-trumps-actions-leading-to-the-attack-on-the-capitol/
• Grynbaum, M. M. and Hsu, T. (2020), “Major Networks Cut Away from Trump’s Baseless Fraud Claims,” The New York Times, 5 November, accessed 26 January 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/business/media/trump-tv.html
• Human Rights Watch, (2020), “Ethiopia: Communications Shutdown Takes Heavy Toll,” 9 March, accessed 20 January 2021, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/09/ethiopia-communications-shutdown-takes-heavy-toll
• Joyella, M. (2020), “Broadcast Networks All Cut Away from President Trump’s Election Remarks,” Forbes, 5 November, accessed 26 January 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2020/11/05/broadcast-networks-all-cut-away-from-presidents-election-remarks/?sh=433d37433eb0
• Keating, C. and Courant, H. (2020), “Quinnipiac Poll: 77% of Republicans Believe there was Widespread Fraud in the Presidential Election; 60% Overall Consider Joe Biden’s Victory Legitimate,” Yahoo News, 10 December, accessed 26 January 2021, https://news.yahoo.com/quinnipiac-poll-77-republicans-believe-204100654.html
• Keen, T. (2011), “The Libyan Uprising and the Right of Revolution in International Law,” International and Comparative Law Review, Vol, 11(1), pp. 7-32
• Kelly, J. (2016), “Brexit: How Much of a Generation Gap is There?” BBC, 24 June, accessed 29 January 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36619342
• Lindgren, S. (2013), “The Potential and Limitations of Twitter Activism: Mapping the 2011 Libyan Uprising,” Triple C, Vol. 11(1), pp. 207-220
• Lindsay, J. M. (2020), “The 2020 Election by the Numbers,” Council on Foreign Relations, 15 December, accessed 14 January 2021, https://www.cfr.org/blog/2020-election-numbers
• Luo, Y. and Harrison, T. M. (2019), “How Citizen Journalists Impact the Agendas of Traditional Media and the Government Policymaking Process in China,” Global Media and China, Vol. 4 (1), pp. 72-93
• Lyons, K. (2020), “TV networks cut away from Trump’s ‘most dishonest speech’ ever,” The Verge, 5 November, accessed 26 January 2021, https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/5/21551991/twitter-cable-broadcast-networks-cut-away-trump-speech
• Mann, T. E. (2001), “Reflections on the 2000 US Presidential Elections,” Brookings, 1 January, accessed 29 January 2021, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/reflections-on-the-2000-u-s-presidential-election/
• Moore, J. (2011), “Social Media: Did Twitter and Facebook Really Build a Global Revolution?” The Christian Science Monitor, 30 June, accessed 13 January 2021, https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2011/0630/Social-media-Did-Twitter-and-Facebook-really-build-a-global-revolution
• Moyo, N. (2019), “The Effects of Social Media on Setting the Agenda of Traditional Media,” Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of South Africa, January
• Mueller, R. S. (2019), “Report on the Investigations into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election,” Vol. 1, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. March, accessed 29 January 2021, https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf
• Mugari, I. (2020), “The dark Side of Social Media in Zimbabwe,” Cogent Social Sciences, Vol. 6(1), pp. 1-15
• Oswald, K. A. (2009), “Mass Media and the Transformation of American Politics,” Marquette Law Review, Vol. 77 (385), pp. 385-414
• Pedde, N. (2017), “The Libyan Conflict and its Controversial Roots,” European View, Vol. 16, pp. 93-102
• Pengelly, M. and Bryant, M. (2021), “Ted Cruz and other Republican Senators Oppose Certifying Election Results,” The Guardian, 3 January, accessed 26 January 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/02/ted-cruz-republican-senators-reject-election-result-biden-trump
• Perrigo, B. (2021), “Facebook and Twitter Finally Locked Donald Trump’s Accounts. Will They Ban Him Permanently?” Time, 7 January, accessed 13 January 2021, https://time.com/5927398/facebook-twitter-trump-suspension-capitol/
• Polyakova, A. and Meserole, C. “Exporting Digital Authoritarianism: The Russian and Chinese Models,” Brookings Foreign Policy Brief, accessed 3 February 2021, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FP_20190827_digital_authoritarianism_polyakova_meserole.pdf
• Salanova, R. (2012), “Social media and political change: The case of the 2011 revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt,” Institut Catala Internacional per La Pau (ICIP) Working Papers 2012/7
• Satell, G. (2014), “If You Doubt that Social Media has Changed the World, Tale A Look at Ukraine,” Forbes, 18 January, accessed 30 January 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/01/18/if-you-doubt-that-social-media-has-changed-the-world-take-a-look-at-ukraine/?sh=2f6df4c44a2c
• Shinkman, P. D. (2021), “Military’s Top Officers Defy Trump, Supporters, Denounce Violence in New Rare Statement,” U.S. News, 12 January, accessed 30 January 2021, https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-01-12/militarys-top-officers-defy-trump-supporters-denounce-violence-in-new-rare-statement
• Simura, B. (2014), “Military Intervention and International Law: A Critical Analysis of the Role of the International Community in Political Uprisings in Libya and Syria,” Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of KwaZulu Natal, November
• The Economic Times, (2020), “Bush Versus Gore in 2000: The Five Weeks of High Drama that Gave President Trump Precedent,” 6 November, accessed 29 January 2021, https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/world-news/bush-versus-gore-in-2000-the-five-weeks-of-high-drama-that-give-president-trump-precedent/articleshow/79053842.cms
• Twitter Inc. (2021), “Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump,” 8 January, accessed 13 January 2021, https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension.html
• Twitter Inc. (2019), “Glorification of Violence Policy,” March, accessed 8 January 2021, https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/glorification-of-violence
• Wagner, K. and Frier, S. (2021), “Trump Suspended by Twitter, Facebook, Snap in Riot’s Wake,” Bloomberg, 7 January, accessed 13 January 2021, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-07/twitter-suspends-trump-s-account-blocks-posts-as-riots-flare
• Waterson, J. (2019), “Facebook Removes 1.5m Videos of New Zealand Terror Attack in First 24 Hours,” The Guardian, 17 March, accessed 30 January 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/17/facebook-removed-15m-videos-new-zealand-terror-attack
• Zuckerberg, M. (2021), Facebook post on the justification of blocking Trump on Facebook and Instagram, 7 January, accessed 13 January 2021, https://www.facebook.com/zuck