From Cairo to kyiv, social networks at the heart of conflicts

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the kyiv government has made extensive use of the platforms to relay the atrocities committed, to call for help or sanctions, and even to be humorous.

"We have never been able to create multinationals like (the channels) RT or Sputnik among the Russians," said Yarema Dukh, a former Ukrainian communications adviser, who created the government's official Twitter account in 2016.

The population is not left out: young Ukrainians recount life under the bombs on TikTok, NGOs collect donations in cryptocurrencies on Telegram... Opposite, Russia has almost reduced freedom of expression online to nothing. , including blocking Facebook and restricting Twitter.

In 2011, both networks were still far from the ubiquitous giants they have become, but some were exploring their potential.

"We had to fight to carve out our place on the margins," said Hossam El-Hamalawy, an Egyptian activist who now lives in Berlin.

But "I knew that what I wrote on Twitter would be picked up (by the media)".

The use of social networks in Ukraine, Burma and Egypt Eléonore HUGHES AFP

He took part in the Arab Springs, which were later dubbed the "Facebook revolutions", although the exact role of the platform remains debated.

"Extremely naive"

In Ukraine, it was in 2014 that a journalist discovered the power of the network, thanks to a message in which he promised to organize an anti-government rally if he received 1,000 responses.

The protest launched in Maidan Square in kyiv marked the start of a pro-European uprising that overthrew the pro-Russian government and also propelled Facebook as the first social network in the country.

At the time, the image of the platform was not yet tarnished.

Mark Zuckerberg, its founder, wrote in 2012 that his company was not interested in profits and wanted to help actors of social change.

According to Burmese journalist Thin Lei Win, in 2012 Facebook "became the internet" in Burma.

"Everything was on Facebook and everyone was sharing everything," she told AFP.

People use the network of an internet cafe on March 16, 2021, in Naypyidaw, Burma STR AFP / Archives

Including inflammatory messages and misinformation that fueled violence against the Rohingya, the Muslim minority.

In 2018, UN special rapporteur Yanghee Lee called the network a "monster" and accused it of inciting racial hatred.

In Egypt too, activists face some disillusionment.

"I was extremely naive to believe that these were tools of liberation," activist Wael Ghonim said in an interview with US broadcaster PBS in 2018.

His Facebook posts had helped galvanize the movement, but he had become a target of misinformation.

In Ukraine, Yarema Dukh, then a new government recruit, quickly found himself fighting against manipulation campaigns led by Russian troll farms, also active in sowing discord in Europe and the United States.

- Inspection of phones -

Activists in Arab Spring countries now complain that the platforms are now mostly for the authorities.

A group of NGOs wrote an open letter to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube last year accusing them of supporting the crackdown by systematically shutting down the accounts of dissidents in the region.

In Burma, opponents of the military junta which took power in early 2021 find themselves on the networks thanks to rallying signs, such as the salute with three fingers in the air, inspired by the films "Hunger Games".

Opponents of the military junta demonstrate in Yangon on July 7, 2021, saluting with three fingers in the air as a sign of rallying STR AFP / Archives

But according to Thin Lei Win, law enforcement began checking people's phones on the street and "if you've posted anything critical of the junta...you can be stopped".

Facebook and other platforms closed the accounts of Burmese generals after the coup, but military propaganda is still broadcast elsewhere, on the TikTok application or Telegram messaging for example, she says.

In Ukraine too, TikTok and Telegram have been accused of not sufficiently tackling Russian disinformation.

Image taken from a video provided on March 13, 2022 by the Ukrainian Presidency showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his office Handout Press Service of the Ukrainian Presidency/AFP/Archives

But Yarema Dukh, who left the Ukrainian government in 2019, continues to see the positive side of social media.

He believes that Ukraine has learned the lessons of long years of dealing with disinformation coming from Moscow: "we learned a lot and after the victory I hope we can share it with others too".

© 2022 AFP