How Innovative Local Publications are Positioning Themselves for Rapid Growth

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In the last five years, social media has emerged as a provocative method of dispensing news and information in Africa, free of the influence of the region’s governments – which have often successfully pressured legacy publications to alter their coverage.

The broad influence of social media on the continent is surprising, given its relatively limited number of users. As of April 2022, there were an estimated 5 billion people using the internet worldwide. Of these 5 billion internet users, an estimated 4.6 billion – around 93% – are active social media users. But in Africa, internet penetration stands at roughly 43%, compared to a global average of about 66%. But even with the slow climb to wider internet adoption in Africa, digital social networks are helping African media achieve wider audience reach.

In fact, social media’s influence has been significant enough to cause governments to enact partial or full internet bans in recent years. In Nigeria, for example, social media—particularly Twitter—was the primary communication and information dispensation tool used in the #EndSARS police brutality protests of October 2020, and over 150,000 people worldwide watched the Nigerian government open fire at peaceful protesters on Instagram Live. As the protests surged on, millions of people around the world, including Jack Dorsey, Rihanna and Beyonce, lent Nigerians their support. Eight months later, the government would impose brazil whatsapp number data a seven-month Twitter ban after a tweet by president Muhammadu Buhari was taken down by the platform for violating community guidelines.

Since 2015, 32 African countries have blocked access to social media; and 12 of those happened in 2021 alone. To take a few examples: For 16 months, the Chadian government restricted access to social media outlets after its president, Idriss Deby, announced constitutional amendments that would allow him to stay in power until 2033. Togo blocked social media on its 2020 election day. During a lengthy period of mass protests against autocratic leadership in 2019, the Sudanese government blocked social media access and cut off nationwide access to the internet – and a similar case occurred almost two years later after a military coup took place in the country. And, more recently, Uganda and Eswatini both blocked social media and cut off internet access in order to “ease tensions.”

Despite these roadblocks, public criticisms of African governments have thrived on social media, with new media publications taking the lead in sharing these stories with the world. A number of African journalists have been the victims of insidious threats and intimidation, and these tactics have succeeded in shaping how some of the continent’s media houses portray African leaders in their publications. Some of these dangers still exist today, but Africa’s new generation of news publications have been emboldened by the visibility, opportunity and privacy that the internet offers.