Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are online platforms that allow individuals to create a public or semi-public profile, connect with other users, and share content, such as photos, videos, and messages. Examples of SNSs include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn (Olelewe et al., 2020 AU109: The in-text citation "Olelewe et al., 2020" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Published in Chapter:
X-Raying Digital Activism in Selected Countries: New Frontiers for Mobilization
Copyright: © 2024
|Pages: 18
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-9467-7.ch012
Abstract
The spectacle of digital activism has taken the world by storm as silent voices manipulate the advantages or opportunities provided by social networking sites (SNSs) to organise protests by engaging their audiences using a panoply of digital technologies. The efficacy of such novel engagement as part of social action movements has become common worldwide, and Africa is no exception. The proliferation of digital media spaces has often made authoritarian resilience costly, but it continues to oil the surveillance economy, data capitalism, and global information manipulation. The chapter presents classical case studies reflecting how this phenomenon has engulfed African states. A qualitative research approach unpacks this phenomenon, as it has become deeply rooted in Africa's drive for social change. The chapter enquires about epistemological reasons such platforms have become a threat to the legacy media.