Africa

#154: Social Media, Citizen Journalism, and Activism in Africa, with Prof. Bruce Mutsvairo

December 11, 2022 Academics

Prof. Bruce Mutsvairo, Professor of Media and Politics at Utrecht University, shares his insights on the role of social media and politics on the African continent. We discuss digital activism across countries, how structures like data bundles might lead to surveillance, and the growing role of influencers as reporters of news. 

The Special Issue call for citizen journalists is here (I’ll update the link as soon as it’s live!). 

 

Here are the studies we discuss in the episode:

 

The Janus face of social media and democracy? Reflections on Africa (2020)

Is citizen journalism dead? An examination of recent developments in the field (2020)

#17: Social Media and Politics in Nigeria, with Yomi Kazeem

April 10, 2017 Civil Society

Yomi Kazeem, a Lagos-based writer of politics, entrepreneurship, and sports business, joins the podcast to share his insights on social media’s impact on politics in Nigeria. We discuss the role of social media in the latest 2015 Nigerian elections, and how Twitter was used by citizens to guard against government manipulation of the vote. Yomi also brings up the topic of dual sim cards, elaborates on NIgeria’s data infrastructure, and explains how political leaders have a love/hate relationship with social media.