{"id":2003,"date":"2022-11-29T17:38:59","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T17:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/237check.org\/?p=2003"},"modified":"2022-11-29T17:43:50","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T17:43:50","slug":"did-social-media-help-spread-fake-news-and-fear-in-communities-within-the-north-west-and-south-west-regions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/237check.org\/fr\/2022\/11\/29\/did-social-media-help-spread-fake-news-and-fear-in-communities-within-the-north-west-and-south-west-regions\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Social Media Help spread Fake News and Fear in Communities within the North West and South West regions?<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Pechuqui Laurata<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The modern society is witnessing a dramatic shift in information dissemination due to widespread adoption of social media. The advent of the internet and the subsequent advent of the social media age have greatly affected the process of information gathering, storing, processing and dissemination. With the liberalization of the media through access to a wider audience to non-traditional journalists through social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even WhatsApp, reporting is no longer the preserve of trained journalists. This has led to a lack of accountability because these independent reporters are not under any code of ethics or regulations   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

   The quest to tell the story first in order to gather traffic or influence on one’s social media page remains a threat to truth, objectivity and accuracy. They either lack the capacity to verify the information they disseminate or they simply cater to a partisan agenda for personal gain. This independent or citizen journalists have been a big threat to unity in Cameroon especially with the ongoing crisis between the two regions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the major channels for information sourcing and dissemination since 2016 to date in Cameroon especially in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon. The majority of the population relied on social media to obtain information of the crisis due to its ease of access and the lure of hardline secessionists through fake messages, audios and videos. Separatist groups have continuously practiced the act of distorting information to suit their agenda since the crisis started. For example the population of Bamenda carried a banner which read “The Population of Bamenda say No to Ghost towns” but the secessionists distorted the message to “The population of Bamenda say Yes to Ghost Towns”. These is just one example of disinformation shared by separatists on social media which has witnessed growing fear in communities, upsurge in violence and recorded deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Development <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   <\/strong>The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon that began in November 2016 could be traced back to the Foumban conference of 1961 where decisions taken purportedly didn’t favour the Anglophones as much as it did the francophones leading to simmering resentments in the Anglophones. In November 2016, lawyers and teachers took to the streets to protest against marginalization particularly in the education and legal sectors, by the Francophone-dominated government. They were also fighting for their identity which ever increasing being subsumed by the Francophone system. The protest turned violent in October 2017 when Separatist fighters under Sisiku Ayuk Tabe declared the two English-speaking regions as a country called Ambazonia which led to full armed conflict with the government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Social media was and still is one of the channels used by secessionists, armed groups popularly called “Amba” and citizen journalists who support the secessionists as a strategy to recruit youth to their supporting their agenda and militia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     These groups started by circulating videos, text, pictures and audios of how lawyers, teachers and youths who joined the protest were manhandled during their protest on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. The fearful communities then turned to these armed groups for protection and information as they gained us vs. them outlook further alienating both factions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ever graphic and violent videos deepened the crisis as they swayed the population to supporting the separatists and the battle for information rivalled the armed conflict in its destructiveness especially among the youth. The constant updates through audios, text, live and recorded videos fuelled the conflict and solidified hardlines and reached their peak before the government decided to act. In a quest to reduce mal-information, disinformation and misinformation in the two English speaking regions, the government initiated a complete shutdown of the internet from January 17th to April 20th 2017 (93 days). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The internet restrictions in the affected regions did not stop the secessionists abroad from sharing their objectives, aims, rules and regulations to the people using other means.  Additionally, Anglophones living in other parts of the regions with internet connections copied and shared secessionist propaganda to the population of the restive regions via SMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, nine days after the internet was shut down by the government, two renowned secessionists; Mark Bareta and Ivo Tapang reported on January 27th 2017 that UNESCO had declared that it will not recognize school certificates issued that year in Cameroon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.bareta.news\/certificates-cameroons-shall-not-recognized\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The secessionists were against school resumption in 2017 in a bid to paralyze education to push their agenda by making the government look ineffective to the global community. Such information was also carried by some bloggers on Facebook like the Cameroon Concord http:\/\/fb.me\/1GwNechsD<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The comment section of the fake news post published by Cameroon Concord on their Facebook page was followed by people promising to share the information to their various communities even by SMS adding to the 90 shares the post carried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 On 24th February 2017, a press release issued by UNESCO National Commission for Cameroon refuted claims but it only aggravated the situation as reported by Betatinz, (https:\/\/www.betatinz\/com\/2017\/02\/unesco-blank-school-year-cammeroon-html\/<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See UNESCO’s Press Release below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Misleading stories and publications shared on the social media space stirred up anger and provoked partisan sentiments and as a result, school enrollment between the year 2017 and 2022, dropped by 72% as reported by journal du Cameroon.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
School Enrollment in Cameroon\u2019s Anglophone Regions Falls by 72% between 2017 and 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>