Assessment of Social Media in Documenting Human Right Violation in Africa
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the relationship between social media and human right violation
- To ascertain the causes of human right violation
- To ascertain the role social media play in human right violation
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
THE REAL CONSTRAINTS ON PRESS FREEDOM
Although the media could be seen to be entitled to the right to freedom of expression, in reality, this right is not totally free. Becker and Vlad (2009) have noted some factors which pose as threats to press freedom including censorship and political instability. In the case of censorship by government, authoritarian regimes characteristically tighten their control in monitoring media contents. Contents which question their policies are often removed. Media outfits may either be owned or subsidized by the government whereby the government reads or views the contents before they are published. In some cases, they are involved in the appointment of the editorial board of media organisations. For instance, in China, the communist party owns the media which serve as its „mouthpiece‟. Only positive stories are free to be published (Hong, 2008). As a result of the tight control of the media, some journalists lost their jobs (Branigan, 2011). In self-censorship, media outfits on their own decide to publish or broadcast their news stories depending on how the contents might impact on their survival as organisations. Political instability and economic consideration can limit the exercise of press freedom. The concentration of media into groups as a result of the influence of oligarchs whose economic and political interests displace those of the public and the society at large also impinges on press freedom. The application of the legal system can deter the media from exercising their freedom fearlessly. Unlawful practices meant to be uncovered through investigative journalism could be hindered by privacy laws; however, these should not be used to displace important developments which are beneficial to the public interest (Human Rights Education, no date).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to assessment of social media in documenting human right violation in Africa
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
Primary source and Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was on assessment of social media in documenting human right violation in Africa. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of social media in documenting human right violation in Africa
Summary
This study was on assessment of social media in documenting human right violation in Africa. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the relationship between social media and human right violation, to ascertain the causes of human right violation, to ascertain the role social media play in human right violation. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of National human right commission, Abuja. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made lawyers, researchers, senior staffs and junior staffs were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
The review of related literature highlighted the importance of press freedom, media social responsibility, and the power of the media in enhancing human rights through the nurture of democracy which is considered a sine qua non for the respect of human rights. This highlights the symbiotic relationship between the media and democracy. However, though the media are considered important in the promotion of human rights, which is a positive aspect of the media, the same media have often been entangled in human rights violations at various times.
Recommendation
This research as pointed out earlier has some challenges related to validity and generalizability associated with qualitative research. This could be seen in the inability of one case of a documentary film to serve as a representative of a myriad of media programmes by many other media outlets, just as the five journalists interviewed could be a limitation in serving as representative of other journalists. However, it can still serve as resource material for future research on a similar field, especially research on human rights and the media. Future research should strive to include more journalists to ascertain their views on what the role of the media should be. Other media organisations should also be studied to know the extent they go to in incorporating human rights issues in their programmes, as well as how far they are prepared to invest in such programmes.
References
- Chakravartty, P. & Sarikakis, K. (2006). Media Policy and Globalization. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Morozov, Evgeny (2011) The Net Delusion. The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. New York: PublicAffairs.
- Mosco, Vincent. (2004) The digital sublime: myth, power, and cyberspace, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Sarah, Joseph (2011) Blame It on the WTO: A Human Rights Critique. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Shirky, Clay (2010) Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age – London: Penguin. ISBN 978-1-59420-253-7.
- Shirky, Clay (2008) Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations – London: Penguin ISBN 978-1-59420-153-0. Articles:
- Gharbia Sami ben, (Sept. 17, 2010) The Internet Freedom Fallacy and the Arab Digital Activism, Sami ben Gharbia blog, available at http://samibengharbia.com/2010/09/17/the-internetfreedom-fallacy-and-the-arab-digital-activism/.
- Sarah, Joseph, (2012), Social Media, Political Change, and Human Rights, 35 Boston College International and Comparative Law Review. Vol 35 (1) available at http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol35/iss1/3.
- Sarikakis, K. (2006). Making Security: Citizenship, Public Sphere and the Condition of Symbolic Annihilation. CHALLENGE F6. programme, workpackage. available at http://www.libertysecurity.org/article1208.html.
- Policy documents Civil Society Declaration to the WSIS 2003 Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs. available at http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs/geneva/civil-society-declaration.pdf. Further Information Universal declaration of Human Rights available at http://www.hrweb.org/legal/udhr.html
