How social media became a playground for civic dialogue

What you need to know:

NEC has overtly acknowledged the existence of some social media groups championing political party agendas and trying to win public support for manifestos

Dar es Salaam. This election year, more than ever, we’ve witnessed heightened political activities on social media – pre-campaign, during campaign, and we will certainly see a lot more political discourse online post-campaign.
We live in a highly digitized world where information is easily accessible online. Even though Tanzania’s online footprint is still nascent, in recent years social media has become the new playground for civic dialogue.
Datareportal published statistics and insights into the world of social media in their 2020 Global digital overview. Two key takeaways from this massive global compendium published on January 30, 2020 include: at the start of 2020, the recorded number of internet users stood at over 4.5 billion people worldwide. And active social media users have surpassed 3.8 billion. A 9 percent (321 million new users) increase since January of last year.
In Tanzania, statistics from a global stat watch – Statcounter shows that there were 5,045,000 Facebook users in the country in September 2020, which accounts for 7.9 percent of the entire population. The majority of them being men - 60.9 per cent, with people aged 25 to 34 being the largest user group (2,160,000). The global researcher also shows that other social media sites such as Twitter, YouTube and Instagram have recorded an upsurge in the number of users.
But, what does this increase of online influence mean on the political spectrum?
As the digital climate continues to evolve and develop, in an increasingly competitive landscape, politicians who are receptive to the needs of their voters have increased voter engagement and retention to the party.
In a drive to effectuate change and popularize ideologies and political affiliations, netizens have used the availability of online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp to convene together and organise their voices to drive change.  
Candidates vying for different political seats ranging from the presidency, parliamentary to councillorship under the umbrellas of their respective political parties, that is, CCM, Chadema, CUF to ACT-Wazalendo, have all used social media [in varying degrees] to permeate their agendas to the voters and foster civic dialogue.
In fact, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) has overtly acknowledged the existence of some social media groups championing political party agendas and trying to win public support for manifestos.
During campaign rallies across the nation, social media platforms were used as channels for political parties to relay their itineraries and also vent out frustrations along the way.
Writer and Strategic advisor Prudence Glorious says that social media has been a great avenue for civic dialogue. “Throughout this election season we’ve seen voices rise up on social media – some are for the current government while others are against it. We’ve also seen youth speaking up on the changes they wish to see from the government,” says Glorious.
She thus opines that social media has been pivotal in fueling civic participation across the country.
On October 9, 2020, Facebook, proprietors of the most used social media platforms in Tanzania – Facebook and Instagram, released a statement on how it plans to preserve Tanzania’s election integrity as the country heads to the polls.
Part of the statement reads: “As part of our efforts to build informed and civically engaged communities, Facebook will launch an Election’s Day reminder at the top of their news feed on Facebook and Instagram in the lead up to the elections. The Election’s Day reminder will provide Tanzanians with official voting information and allow them to share that they voted through a post or a picture on their profiles.”
This initiative by Facebook is a highlight of the intrinsic role played by all social media platforms in Tanzania’s political arena.
Managing Director of LAS Consultancy – a Dar es Salaam-based communications agency, Salha Kibwana says; “to speak about election campaigns or politics without social media is impossible in this day and age. So much of our political discussion and decisions are made through the overflow of information shared before, during and close to elections.”
She continues; “policies are shared like wildfire through social media platforms, everything happens via social media.”
Kibwana also points out that social media platforms have made it possible for political parties to speak directly to the public. She also acknowledges its role in fostering youth participation during elections.
 
Challenges of the digital space
In as much as the digital space has provided a gateway for online influencers, politicians and the general public to dispatch content aimed at swaying followers their way, online platforms are prone to misuse and have become a target of spreading false information. This is something that players such as Twitter and Facebook have taken seriously, realizing the irreparable damage that can be caused.
During an election year, the amount of false information shared online multiplies tenfold. It is for this reason that some of the most influential online platforms such as Facebook partnered with Pesa Check, an independent fact-checking organization in Tanzania to review and rate the accuracy of content shared online.
Digital divide is another prevalent problem in Tanzania. “A huge part of our populace is still oblivious of what is happening online,” says Glorious, adding that as much as there has been a lot of dialogue on the digital space, there are still many people who are left behind.
She thus cautions on using social media as a benchmark to reflect Tanzania’s political status.
Another social media drawback is the fact that it relies on internet connectivity, meaning poor internet connection renders most platforms ineffective.  Access to network is also externally controlled, giving the user limited control over his/her gadget.
A prime example of this concern was seen recently when a document circulated online alluding to temporal suspension of bulk messaging and bulk voice calling services supposedly issued by the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication. Our efforts to reach out to the Ministry to ascertain the validity of the letter didn’t bear any fruits.