Dear listeners,
On behalf of my colleagues, we would like to inform you we are conducting a research on the growing use of social media in the political landscape.
The research has particular relevance in Kenya, where elections have repeatedly been flashpoints of violence, and where crowdsourced violence reporting via social and new media has been a feature of peacebuilding and violence mitigation.
Research highlights significant ‘technology gaps’ between members at margins of society, and those whose voices are amplified by social media; reflecting concerns that social media does not equally reflect experiences of the most vulnerable, including women and girls, or populations with limited digital access, who are often key crisis response targets.
How timely are reports from social media and conventional media, and how can these be used in real-time by policymakers in the real-time case of the Kenyan elections?
Little research has rigorously tested the nature or extent of data gaps, meaning policymakers develop responses without robust evidence on data reliability and comprehensiveness.
Findings will be discussed, validated workshops in Nairobi with policy, research, and civil society experts on Kenyan political violence, to assess comprehensiveness of both data sources and implications for response. We would like to collaborate with interested individuals.
I welcome further discussions
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