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Authors
Silverman, JonAffiliation
University of BedfordshireIssue Date
2020-11-19
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The text messaging application WhatsApp has been heavily criticized for acting as a vehicle for the spread of misinformation and unsubstantiated rumour, leading, in some parts of the world, to violence and even death. But the closed nature of WhatsApp groups has presented a structural problem as a subject for credible social science research. A collaborative project between the Universities of Bedfordshire (UK) and Sierra Leone has tracked messaging in an experimental student WhatsApp group using critical discourse analysis in order to generate a deeper understanding of discursive influences in a fragile society. It asks whether the affordance of a WhatsApp group necessarily amplifies offline polarizations and explores routes to consensuality in a divided post-conflict state. It concludes that more robust interventions by group administrators could foster free speech while avoiding the need for intrusive regulation from outside agencies. Key words – social media; discourse; rumours; WhatsApp;ethno-regional;divisiveCitation
Silverman J (2022) 'WhatsApp in Sierra Leone : burning bridges or building them?', African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review, 12 (1), pp.82-104.Publisher
Indiana University PressAdditional Links
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/857747Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
2156-695XEISSN
2156-7263Sponsors
Global Challenges Research Fundae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.12.1.04
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