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“poorly educated populace” applies to most people responding irrationally to incitement on social media, not just in South Africa. Yet I somehow don’t remember
by onyva 7y ago
“poorly educated populace” applies to most people responding irrationally to incitement on social media, not just in South Africa. Yet I somehow don’t remember seeing this stated when white supremacy and other hate crimes are committed by neo-nazis inviting violence, I.e. Paul Nehlen... this is when we’re somehow asked to consider the limits of free speech, not his IQ.
- niolon 7y ago"Poorly educated populace" is a statement of fact, not a racial insinuation, as is seemingly being implied. South Africa has an awful education system, coming off a low base under apartheid. Its populace faces the problems of poor literacy (and associated critical thinking skills), as well as the general issues that the rest of the world faces with social media. Until cellphone network MTN killed its free data for Twitter offering, it was a hotbed of manipulation for precisely that reason. The difference between social media disinformation empowering white supremacists in the west, and misinformation in third world countries, is the risk of mob violence in the third world.