By Abebe Yirga Ayenalem
It is crystal clear that social media needs to be open and people’s voices need to be disseminated freely. Among other social media, Facebook in Ethiopia has been the main platform where people have been exercising their political questions and opinions when electronic media was censored by the TPLF-led government. The Meta, the rebranded name for Facebook, has been at the center of Ethiopian political space. According to some studies, Facebook in Ethiopia has contributed to bringing political transition in Ethiopia since 2015.
The holiness of Facebook started to be degraded when the US’s foreign policy began to exercise its regime change policy. Social Media has been a tool for the CIA. Facebook, like other social media based in the USA, has been used as a tool to attain the CIA’s goal. Facebook has been serving as a silent but destructive weapon in inciting ethnic and religious conflicts in Ethiopia. Both Ethiopian (the TPLF terrorist members) and foreign actors have been spreading hate and inciting violence among Ethiopians. However, Facebook did nothing, if not little to stop this. The former Facebook Product Manager, Frances Haugen already presented the case to the UK parliament. (She used to work on civic integrity and misinformation in the company). This implies Facebook has been sponsoring deaths, genocides, rapes, civil war, ethnic-based attaches, and other social evils. Facebook is not bound by its community standards. Instead, it promotes violence and incitement, allows dangerous individuals and organizations to freely engage in their evil missions, makes Facebook an unsafe place, and engages in activities degrading human dignity and national sovereignty. Facebook’s unethical and illegal act is not accidental but intentional, as studies stated!
Since the 3rd of November 2020, the TPLF rebel fighters have slaughtered the northern command of the Ethiopian national army that has been protecting the Tigray from any enemy, the Facebook has changed its course. The TPLF terrorist fighters have looted sizable military hardware from this national army. However, it has the USA’s back up! Facebook company has been fueling and sponsoring the war in Ethiopia in three ways;
- Facebook intentionally allowed and is still allowing the hate speech and inciting violence that has played their active role in the current deaths, genocides, destructions, and turmoil. Facebook company has been sponsoring disinformation and hate-speech
- The Facebook company has been gravely biased and sided with terrorist fighters, the TPLF rebel fighters. supporting the TPLF fighters to disinform, and disseminate hate speeches in Ethiopia. The TPLF fighters have been given a green card by Facebook to commit their earthly evils on innocent Amhara and Afar civilians. On the other hand, Facebook has been controlling public opinions that may not violate the Facebook community guidelines. Several activists who disseminate the balanced and the truth about Ethiopians, the evilness of the TPLF fighters, and call Ethiopians to stand for Ethiopia have been blocked and restricted from using Facebook. Through this, Facebook has served as the propaganda machine for the rebel fighters that are supported by the US, Egypt, Sudan, and EU (a few member states).
- Facebook controls Ethiopians not to exercise the freedom of information. It has been repressing the voices of the people. For instance, Facebook does not allow blogs that criticize and reveal the US‘s regime change policy towards Ethiopia. For example, the article “From Basma to Ethiopia – How C2FC is Using Lethal Journalism to Conduct Information Warfare and Lawfare against Ethiopia” is blocked by the platform from being shared or posted.
If Facebook is the bloody tool that fumes war in Ethiopia then is it still important not to be blocked? If Facebook is sponsoring the TPLF fighters to commit genocides on the innocent Ethnically Amhara and Afar people, then is it still relevant? If Facebook is working against Ethiopian sovereignty to materialize Biden’s regime change policy in Ethiopia, is Facebook more than the life of Ethiopians and Ethiopia’s sovereignty? How many Amhara and Afar children need to be displaced from school? How many health institutions need to be destroyed and booted by the TPLF rebel fighters? How many people are sentenced to be murdered by Facebook’s ally the TPLF fighters?
How many women are destined to be raped by the TPLF fighters? How long shall the government of Ethiopia wait to block the bloody Facebook from further exacerbating the current turmoil? Shall Ethiopia trade off its sovereignty and misery of its people for the right to information? What is the state which is in a state of emergency waiting for regarding Facebook, the silent weapon? Therefore, the Facebook company deserves to be blocked and the case needs to be filed in the international court.
Abebe Yirga Ayenalem is a researcher at the Blue Nile Water Institute and, a lecturer at the Department of Political Science and International Studies, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.
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It sounds nice to read from an Ethiopuan with first hand information as to how facebook has been patially treating the gruesome situation of the Tigray War. However, it would be nice to suggest how to tame Meta to become more socially responsible media which cares for its community standards rather than dismissing it altogether.