Ethiopia

CIMA Q&A with Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew: The Dangers of Media “Ethnification” in Ethiopia

As a civil war fought along regional and ethnic lines rages in Ethiopia, similar lines of conflict have been drawn across the country’s media sector. Ethiopia’s ethnicized politics are seeping into the media sector, with media houses aligned with a single linguistic group promoting narratives that deepen political polarization. In an interview with CIMA, Ethiopian legal scholar and 2020 Open Internet for Democracy Leader Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew discusses this issue of media “ethnification” in Ethiopia.

Uprooting hate speech: The challenging task of content moderation in Ethiopia

While many have lauded social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for being open spaces for self-expression, there is no doubt that this openness can also be problematic. This is particularly true when it comes to hate speech or other dangerous content.