Overview
This project focuses on improving information literacy for transitional justice actors in Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Africa.
Transitional justice refers to how a community responds to the aftermath of widespread human rights abuses to help heal societal trauma and build institutions that help prevent such atrocities reoccurring.
Social media and new technologies are dramatically altering the ability of states to forge consensus around transitional justice processes, driving antipathies and making conciliation even more difficult. This is especially the case for countries where social media has been closely associated with violence and atrocities.
Narratives of collective trauma are happening online where there is little regulation of ‘hate speech’, and violent agendas are being actively promoted. The influential South African model of truth and reconciliation has become much more difficult to implement. Uganda is struggling to reintegrate former combatants, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission is worried that its efforts are being fundamentally undermined.
The project aims to improve the knowledge base of transitional justice actors on the role of media and new technologies and support them to develop media strategies that address the specific challenges faced by transitional justice. It will ask three key questions:
How can media help foster national, or local, consensus around the TJ policy – and specifically raising awareness and addressing mis/disinformation in polarised environments?
How can media support the implementation of TJ, including giving voice to victims, fostering empathy, and as a forum for truth-seeking, often in a context of insecurity?
What interventions can be made to foster a more supportive media environment, including addressing the failures of Big Tech to moderate online hate speech and mis/disinformation and the need for a degree of regulation?
The project is being led by Professor Tim Allen with the support of Professor Joanna Lewis, Dr Elizabeth Ngutuku, Dr Gedion Onyango, and Dr Thomas Kirk.
The project is funded through LSE internal funding schemes.