Refugee Crises and Social Media Censorship

Outline and Thesis Statement 

Social media has over the recent years been perceived as a means of expression free from any judicial interference or scrutiny. It is considered the most accurate and raw source of information since the users do not need to sugar-coat or hide pieces of information due to legislation or set of rules as is the case by the traditional media. But this freedom of the social media has had its fair share of challenges and threat to the general public. Social media can be viewed as a source of propaganda and incitement against a particular category of people. For instance, social media has been at the forefront of inciting violence that culminates into political unrests. These unrests result in cases of victims seeking asylum in other countries. You might think that is all, but there is more. Social media goes a step further in culminating hate towards these people. Social media has been on the forefront of creating and spreading incitements and propaganda that not only creates political unrest but results in xenophobia and cruel treatment of refugees in the host countries. As such, there is the need to censor social media and monitor the content being shared therein, to ensure that it conforms with the human values of peace, love, and understanding. 

Background 

According to surveys, at least three out of five people have unlimited access to one or more social media platforms, and the platform is considered an effective way of passing news information between people. Indeed the social media has been on the forefront doing so effectively. It has provided for access of global news to different parts of the world. But the social media developed a whole new perspective and took on a different direction when users took to social media to discuss the political crisis in Syria in 2014. Usually, this would be considered a healthy way of highlighting the happenings in Syria, but when users took different stands on the crisis and started showing strong opinions, things went astray. Social media heavily drew different perceptions on the crisis, most of which were sentimental, irrational and uninformed. Within no time, it had succeeded in portraying Syria has a rowdy, barbaric and uncivilized nation. Users passed blame between leaders and parties, thus turning groups against each other. It did not only turn Syrians against each other, but it also set the world against Syria by stereotyping all Syrians as troublemakers. The effect of this move was a torn country caught between wars of incitement, as well as ruined diplomatic ties that severely affected the international help it could get. Refugees were not allowed into host countries. And for those that managed to past this test was subjected to cruelty and harsh treatments. Even though the Syrian government managed to censor the internet and social media as a measure of combating the conflicts leading to the refugee crisis, the damage had been done, on an international platform. The messages might have been censored in the country, but the global population had already caught the wimps of it and showed no signs in backtracking, thus the need for global censorship (Salvadoretti, 2014). 

More than a Political Problem 

This was not just a political war, thanks to social media, but instead, it was a societal problem. This is because the social media did not only target the Syrian government with the propaganda, but by passing the bucket within different ethnic groups as well, it elicited a war between societies. Neighbors no longer trusted each other. They turned against each other. And when the trust and love that weaves two people together in brotherhood is torn, they are bound to be on each other's neck. They believe that the other party poses a threat to one. And the only one to ensure one's safety is by removing the other party from the picture. What started as a political difference culminated in civil war, thanks to the messages by online users. 

Conventional Response 

However, not everyone believes social media was entirely to blame for the refugee crises observed in the country. In fact, Salvadoretti (2014) points out in his article that the only reason the global social media took keen interest in the crisis is because Syria has a reputation for being harsh to online political activism that goes against the Assad regime, and that that is actually the primary reason for the internet and media censorship, rather than the fact that it led to refugee crises. As such, the article portrays the struggle to hold onto power as the primary reason behind the Syrian crisis, and that censoring the internet and media only serves to block away the international community from the actual reality of the ground. The article questions, and in so doing, establishes the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the censorship. Hypothetically, pruning the leaves of the weed plant does not wipe it out; it just regulates its growth. In understanding the role of social media in all of this, the article suggests the need to find real political solutions rather than censoring the media, which only serves as the political watchdog. Bergman (2017), however, would beg to differ with Salvadoretti. It points out by referring to Europe's Out-of-Control Censorship program where the social media was biased in removing inciteful messages online. It points out the use of Facebook in Europe and how selective deleting of posts that would be considered inciteful undermines the effectiveness of the program. Facebook advocated strongly for the deletion of content from political activists who were scrutinizing the government but ignored the content from terrorist groups that are considered ways of radicalizing religions and communities by violating community standards and inciting actual violence against immigrants in Europe. What this article suggests is that the problem is not political activism on social media, but rather the real issue lies in the incitement of any kind on social media. It suggests that for peace to be restored, it is essential for the social media watchdogs to be wary of what message is posted there, not just against the government, but against any and every aspect of the society. In coming up with an applicable solution, one realizes that in as much as there are other factors for refugee crises, social media is one of them and plays an equally important role. Through analyzing the solutions from the above two divides, it is correct to say that each of these factors plays a unique and seemingly chief role in incitement, and measures should, therefore, be taken to ensure the elimination of these threats, not one more so than the other. 

Proposed Solution 

Having noted concisely that social media is a crucial factor in propagating violence through the spread of uninformed news, it is critical that the users are brought into account. In which case social media censorship will be vital, but on a broader perspective, in as much as the information may always be exaggerated, the underlying factor is that there is some information to share, which in this case entails the injustices by the political system or radical groups in the society. By censoring the media, we suppress the voices trying to talk about these issues, but we do not deal constructively with the problems. So, to provide a holistic approach that answers definitely to the other factors behind the refugee crises, it is essential to establish check balances that provide solutions to political disagreements, security threats posed by radical groups and preach love and tolerance among the host states and the refugees. 

How Viable is The Solution? 

The Human Rights Watch in Germany does not oppose the fact that social media needs to be brought under scrutiny for the misleading information posted therein due to its ability to disrupt national peace. However, it worries that such a move goes against the human rights to freedom of expression. This falls in place with my proposed solution that for media censorship to be effective, it has to apply the scrutiny law which would be gauging posts by their individual nature of being informative, rather than blocking out posts of a specific nature, say political. It is not the nature of a post being political that causes tension, it is the content therein. How informative and correct the content is. Wilson (2014) argues that censoring social media will not resolve issues as such racism and the discriminatory remarks from individuals that lead to xenophobic tendencies. They may stop hating o social media, but that does not guarantee the fact that they will stop doing so on physical contacts, hence the need to find a more stable solution from the grassroots. Again this falls in line with my proposed solution to deal with all the factors of this menace, not just the social media aspect. 

Validity, Reliability, and Biases 

By implementing this proposed strategy, the global community is sure to provide platforms to scrutinize social media posts, allowing for selective information, rather than blocking out an entire genre, and find solutions to the other factors of refugee crises. This approach is more valid and will go a long way in not only caring for the refugees in the host countries but will also be vital in solving the conflicts in their mother countries, ensuring peace and stability should they wish to go back. It does not show any bias to any involved parties. 

Credibility of the Sources 

The sources used herein each to some extent demonstrate a certain level of bias. For instance, Bergman's article strongly advocates for unlimited social media censorship. While this may be effective in combating inciteful posts, it infringes on the rights of freedom of expression by limiting posts. Salvadoretti, on the other hand, overemphasizes on social media as being guilty of instigating political unrest and fails to provide viable alternative solutions. However, Mackinnon's article comes across as very conventional, in that it recognizes the role of social media in instigating hate, but also points out to other factors like racism and radicalization, hence calls for holistic interventions. 

Ethical Implications 

The proposed solution would result in peace, love, and understanding among refugees and their hosts, peace, and stability in their mother countries, and offer social media protection from harmful content while at the same time upholding the freedom of expression for online users, provided they have the right content. Thus, creating a win-win situation for all parties involved. However, this could have a negative impact on the political watchdogs who feel their need to hold the political system to account shall have been denied since the scrutiny would be deemed as promoting only positive political content, and any critic will be shunted off. It will create the fear of expressing opposing thoughts. 

Conclusion 

Social media has been so vocal in its pursuit to uphold and protect the safety of concerned parties. While this is important, the channeling of negative energy could result in social catastrophes, like political unrest and refugee crises. It is, therefore, to provide checks and balances of the content being shared online, while at the same time cautiously taking into consideration the concerns raised through social media and working towards finding a lasting solution. 

References 

Bergman, J. (2017, April 6). Europe's out-of-control censorship . Retrieved from https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10123/europe-censorship 

Human Rights Watch. (2018, February 15). Germany: Flawed social media law . Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/14/germany-flawed-social-media-law 

Mackinnon, R. (2017, July 1). Can censoring social media stop extremism? The Aspen Institute . Retrieved from https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/censorship-on-the-internet/ 

Salvadoretti, T. (2014, December 12). The role of social media in the Syrian crisi. Asfar. Retrieved from https://www.asfar.org.uk/the-role-of-social-media-in-the-syrian-crisis/ 

Wilson, T. (2014). Playing the pariah card . Retrieved from https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/playing-the-pariah-card/news-story/4f51a1e101582ae6ee0d5259c35796dd