As a peacebuilder, what I am sharing here are my own views only and is the way I see social media in our context. Some of this reflects discussions from among my peers and others who have the same passion as a peacebuilder.

In the Solomon Islands, social media has played a role that can help advocate for our peacebuilding work, but it also has a destabilizing effect. People no longer trust social media because it has been used to disseminate unverified second-hand information, including to those for whom we are trying to advocate our cause about which we are so passionate.

Social media has come to be one of the most powerful tools for disseminating news, events, advocacies, celebrations, and many other issues concerning human lives in the 21^st century. However, despite its advantages, it is also used to disseminate hate speech and to promote fanatic ideologies and issues not corresponding with peaceful cultures and positive moral values within communities. To that end, it paves the ground for humiliation, deepening ethnic division, and dissemination of false and unconfirmed news that leads to fear and harassment.

In my organization, social media is widely used mainly for press statements and updates on activities—a tool for spreading information to a wider community about what our organization is doing. Whenever there is a public report, especially ones related to human rights, or statements on issues related to peace or human rights, or campaigns on the elimination of violence against women, key messages are posted through social media. These posts include important points reflecting on why people should be concerned and the due responsibility of the government to promote and protect human rights, including its responsibility as a member of the international community and conventions. Such postings are done very carefully to avoid any hatred or misinformation. It is also being used as an advocacy tool, reflecting the stand of the organization for democratic values when it faces huge resistance.

Introduction

The world today is being defined by the many avenues for free expression beyond what could have even been imagined just 15 years ago. It has become a more open space with a hugely reduced room for privacy, especially with the rise of social media and networking, which has transformed the way individuals, groups, and society communicate. 

While social media has served as a platform for the creation of ideas and where opinions are influenced, expressed, and shaped, it has also become the prime carrier of fake news, conspiracy theories, and a tool for hate crimes and hate speech anywhere in the world, overtaking the traditional propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation machines. In Africa, social media has contributed to bringing changes, such as the Arab Spring and media swings in elections in West Africa, Zambia, Uganda, and Kenya. The power of social media in Africa is apparent in the instability in Ethiopia and in mobilizing the spectacular rallies that resulted in the toppling of Omar al-Bashir in Sudan. It has also been part of the constant local and national conflict in South Sudan. 

Rogelio "Loloy" Cabiladas on the far right in his class photo.

We at MPI are deeply saddened to learn of the sudden and early death of MPI alumnus Rogelio "Loloy" Cabiladas. He participated in MPI's 2005 Annual Peacebuilding Training and was an active leader in his Higaunon indigenous community. At the time of the training, Loloy was chairperson of the Dalipuga Barangay Council and City Legal Office – Barangay Mediation Panel/Taskforces on Environment and Political Boundary.