Online Reporter
Nick Mangwana
Government Up Close
The advent of social media has revolutionised the way we communicate, interact, and share information. However, beneath the veneer of connectivity and global village rhetoric lies a more sinister reality – social media imperialism.
This phenomenon, where Western-based social media platforms exert significant control over the digital lives of people in the Global South, has far-reaching implications for cultural identity, national sovereignty, and economic development.
Social media is not only transmitting information and allowing transnational interaction but on the downside, it’s allowing the percolation of cultural norms from developed countries to penetrate and alter the cultures of less developed countries.
At its core, social media imperialism is a form of digital colonisation, where Western tech giants, such as Facebook, X, and Google, impose their platforms, values, and norms on non-Western societies.
This process is often facilitated by the proliferation of smartphones and internet penetration in developing countries. As a result, local cultures and traditional forms of communication are increasingly being supplanted by Western-dominated social media platforms. This, coming from a writer who has hundreds of thousands of followers on X and churns out dozens of posts a day may sound ironic but someone has to sound a knell of caution. This piece is doing just that.
One of the most insidious aspects of social media imperialism is the way it erodes cultural identity. By promoting a homogenised, Western-centric worldview, social media platforms undermine the unique cultural heritage and values of non-Western societies.
This can lead to a loss of cultural diversity, as local customs, languages, and traditions are gradually replaced by Western norms. Whilst some consider things happening on social media a parallel reality, these things have a tendency to percolate our daily lives. The so-called parallel reality and our reality as African people or Zimbabweans are just morphing into one big homogeneous reality.
Social media imperialism also poses a significant threat to national sovereignty. By controlling the digital infrastructure and online discourse, Western tech giants can exert significant influence over the political and social narrative of non-Western countries. This can lead to a form of digital neo-colonialism, where Western powers use social media platforms to shape public opinion, influence elections, and undermine the legitimacy of non-Western governments.
The influence of tech giants in the internal affairs of sovereign countries has become a pressing concern.
A notable example is Uganda, where Facebook sparked controversy by shutting down accounts belonging to government officials and supporters of President Yoweri Museveni ahead of the 2021 general elections.
This move was rightly perceived as an attempt to influence the electoral outcome and sparked accusations of foreign interference. Similarly, in other African countries, tech giants have been accused of censoring content, suppressing dissenting voices, and promoting Western agendas, raising concerns about the erosion of national sovereignty and the need for greater regulation of digital platforms.
The US government’s attempt to force TikTok’s owners to sell the platform to American owners is a thinly veiled effort to assert social media dominance. By seeking to transfer ownership of TikTok to American entities, the US is effectively trying to expand its jurisdiction over the global digital landscape.
This move is part of a broader strategy to counter the growing influence of Chinese tech companies and maintain American dominance in the digital sphere. By gaining control over TikTok, the US would be able to shape the platform’s content moderation policies, data collection practices, and algorithmic decision-making processes, ultimately allowing it to project its own values, interests, and worldview onto the global online community.
To resist the forces of social media imperialism, it is essential that non-Western countries develop their own digital infrastructure, social media platforms, and online ecosystems. This can involve investing in local tech industries, promoting digital literacy and education, and implementing policies that protect national sovereignty and cultural identity in the digital realm.
China has successfully developed its own social media platforms, reducing its reliance on Western-owned platforms. Examples of popular Chinese social media sites include WeChat, Weibo, Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), and Xiaohongshu (a social e-commerce platform). These platforms have gained immense popularity not only in China but also globally, with many international users adopting them as alternatives to Western-owned platforms.
By developing and promoting its own social media platforms, China is effectively implementing its digital sovereignty policies. This approach enables China to exert control over the digital landscape within its borders, ensuring that online content and activities align with its national values and interests.
By reducing its dependence on Western-owned platforms, China can also mitigate the risks associated with foreign interference, data exploitation, and censorship. Furthermore, China’s digital sovereignty policies promote the growth of its domestic tech industry, fostering innovation, and creating jobs. Ultimately, China’s approach serves as a model for other countries seeking to assert their digital independence and protect their national interests in the online realm.
Then there is the arrest of Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov which highlights the West’s double standards when it comes to social media regulation. On one hand, Western governments justify censorship and content moderation on social media platforms as necessary measures to protect national security and combat misinformation.
However, when African countries attempt to regulate social media to protect their own national interests, the West is quick to condemn such efforts as authoritarian and anti-democratic. This hypocrisy underscores the West’s belief that its own national security considerations take precedence over those of other nations, and that it has the right to dictate how social media platforms operate globally.
The economic implications of social media imperialism are equally concerning. By dominating the digital economy, Western tech giants can extract vast amounts of data and revenue from non-Western countries, often without providing adequate compensation or benefits to local populations. This can exacerbate existing economic inequalities and undermine the ability of non-Western countries to develop their own digital economies.
The algorithms employed by tech giants have been found to be biased against users in Africa, perpetuating existing social inequalities. These biases can be attributed to the fact that the data used to train these algorithms is often sourced from Western countries, resulting in a lack of representation and understanding of the African context. For instance, language processing algorithms may struggle to comprehend African languages or dialects, leading to inaccurate translations or misinterpretations.
Furthermore, the algorithms used by tech giants can also perpetuate stereotypes and reinforce existing power dynamics. For example, image recognition algorithms have been shown to misclassify African faces or assign them more negative attributes.
Similarly, content moderation algorithms may unfairly target and remove content created by African users, citing “hate speech” or “inappropriate content” as reasons. These biases can have far-reaching consequences, limiting access to information, opportunities, and resources for African users. It is essential for tech giants to acknowledge and address these biases, ensuring that their algorithms are fair, transparent, and inclusive of diverse perspectives.
The recent banning of handles such as African Stream and sites propagating an alternative view of the Russia-Ukraine war is a blatant display of social media imperialism. Tech giants, largely based in the Western world, are imposing their own narrative and censorship on the global digital landscape.
This not only stifles free speech and diverse perspectives but also undermines the agency of users, particularly those from the Global South, to engage with and shape their own online discourse.
The hypocrisy is glaring. While social media platforms tout their commitment to promoting free expression and combating disinformation, they simultaneously silence voices that challenge the dominant Western narrative.
The banning of Africa Stream and similar outlets is a clear example of this double standard. These platforms are not only suppressing alternative viewpoints but also perpetuating a form of digital colonialism, where Western powers dictate what information is deemed acceptable for global consumption.
Then comes the issue of monetisation. Did you know that content from Africa is monetized differently than content from more developed countries?
There is actually a growing concern that biases exist against content from Africa, resulting in lower monetisation rates compared to content from developed countries. This disparity is often attributed to the algorithms used by social media platforms and online advertising systems, which tend to prioritize content from Western creators.
As a result, African content creators face significant challenges in generating revenue from their online content, despite producing high-quality and engaging material. This bias not only affects the livelihoods of African creators but also perpetuates the dominance of Western perspectives and voices in the global digital landscape.
Moreover, the notion that these platforms are protecting users from “disinformation” is a thinly veiled excuse for censorship. Who gets to decide what constitutes “disinformation”? The answer, of course, is the tech giants themselves, who are increasingly acting as self-appointed arbiters of truth.
This is a dangerous precedent, as it undermines the very foundations of a free and open internet. By banning alternative viewpoints, these platforms are essentially creating an echo chamber that reinforces the dominant narrative, rather than fostering a diverse and inclusive online environment.
Ultimately, the banning of African Stream and similar outlets is a stark reminder of the need for greater digital sovereignty and decentralisation. It is imperative that we challenge the stranglehold of Western tech giants on the global digital landscape and promote a more inclusive, diverse, and democratic online environment. This can only be achieved by supporting alternative platforms, promoting media literacy, and advocating for policies that protect free speech and online freedom.
It is crucial that African countries engage in international cooperation and diplomacy to address the global implications of social media imperialism. This can involve negotiating international agreements and standards that regulate the activities of Western tech giants, protect digital rights and freedoms, and promote cultural diversity and national sovereignty in the digital age.
It is imperative for African countries to develop their own social media platforms that cater to African needs and values. The current dominance of Western-owned social media platforms has led to a plethora of issues, including biases against African content, censorship of African voices, and exploitation of African user data.
By developing their own social media platforms, African countries can create online spaces that are tailored to their unique cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic contexts. This would enable Africans to express themselves freely, share their stories, and connect with each other without fear of censorship or marginalization.
Developing African-owned social media platforms would also have significant economic benefits. It would create jobs, stimulate innovation, and contribute to the growth of Africa’s digital economy. Moreover, it would enable African countries to retain control over their online data, which is currently exploited by Western tech companies.
By owning their own social media platforms, Africans can ensure that their data is protected, and their online activities are not subject to the whims of foreign companies. Ultimately, developing African-owned social media platforms is crucial for promoting African autonomy, self-expression, and economic empowerment in the digital age.
Additionally, African countries can establish their own regulatory frameworks to govern social media operations, ensuring that platforms operate in a fair, transparent, and culturally sensitive manner and their national security considerations are catered for.
African countries should also promote digital literacy and critical thinking skills among their citizens, enabling them to navigate social media platforms more effectively and make informed decisions about the content they consume.
Furthermore, African governments and their own funded civil society organizations (yes, African countries should fund their own civil societies) can engage in diplomatic efforts to push for greater transparency and accountability from Western tech companies.
This could involve advocating for more diverse and representative content moderation teams, as well as pushing for greater disclosure around algorithmic decision-making processes. By taking these steps, Africa can begin to challenge social media imperialism and reclaim its digital sovereignty.
Social media imperialism is a pressing concern that requires urgent attention and action. By recognizing the ways in which Western-based social media platforms exert control over the digital lives of people in the Global South and particularly in Africa we can begin to develop strategies to resist and counter this form of digital colonisation.
Ultimately, it is only by promoting digital sovereignty, cultural diversity, and national self-determination that we can create a more just and equitable digital world.
Nick Mangwana is the Permanent Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services
daniel chigunwe
