RightsCon Tunis 2019

This session is about democracy in Africa and the significant and expanding role that social media is playing. According to the National Democratic Institute, 31 general/parliamentary/presidential elections were scheduled to be held between 2018-2019 in Africa, with 19 of those elections to be held in 2019. A few years ago, many people trusted social media as a space where everyone has a voice and an audience. Social media was hailed as the leveler. Recent trends, however, throw doubts on these assertions, as powerful forces seem to be increasingly taking over the most important platforms for inclusive civic engagement The session will be a moderated roundtable with panelists including colleagues who are conducting focused research on how algorithms impact democracy and human rights in Kenya and other African countries who have observed this trend in their countries, sharing observed patterns while experts who already are working around the issue will provide insight into best approaches for civil society to engage and work together to not just interrogate the trend in their respective countries or the country where they work but to also share effective advocacy strategies that can clearly define and address the problem.