Online threats in Ethiopia reveal content moderation failures

The Star

25-04-2025

ADDIS ABABA: Lella Mesikir built a huge following with online posts about gender rights in Ethiopia but says a lack of local language content moderation has forced her to flee into exile.
Analysts say social media in countries like Ethiopia can be particularly lawless since their systems often fail to filter out hate speech in local languages.
Lella's nightmare began on Oct 22 when she posted a video on TikTok calling on women to flee abusive partners.
An Ethiopian influencer described the message as a "hate campaign against men" and disrespectful of the country's religion and culture.
Other posts suggested she was pro-LGBTQ – a serious accusation in a country where same-sex relationships can lead to 15 years in prison – or even in league with the devil due to the tattoos on her fingers.
Lella said a TikTok group was created specifically targeting her, including calls for her murder.
In November, the 32-year-old feminist saw no choice but to flee to neighbouring Kenya.
"I had to leave my family, my job and everything I had in Ethiopia due to the threats," she told AFP, crying heavily.
"I am devastated," she added, saying the episode had left her with both psychological and financial problems.
'Horrific comments'
Lella said TikTok bears some responsibility as it "abysmally fails" to moderate content in Amharic, the most common language in Ethiopia, as well as regional languages Tigrinya and Afaan Oromoo.
"I've seen so many videos made by Ethiopian men on TikTok, making horrific comments about women, but nothing is being done," she said.
TikTok told AFP it had "zero tolerance for misogyny and hate speech" and removes 92% of content before it is reported to them, using "a combination of technology and human moderation in over 70 languages, including Amharic".
Those claims were disputed by Workineh Diribsa, a journalism professor at Ethiopia's Jimma University, who said TikTok had become a breeding ground for "extremely dangerous" content.
"Audio recordings of schoolgirls being gang-raped, graphic footage of beheadings and torture by militants and violent extremism are often streamed live," he said.
Some influencers in Ethiopia have even used such content to increase their followers.
A study released this month by the Centre for Information Resilience, a British NGO, found social media was exacerbating Ethiopia's multiple political, ethnic and religious conflicts.
"In Ethiopia, online hate speech has already had lethal consequences," Felicity Mulford, research manager at CIR, told AFP.
The study found "women who challenge traditional gender roles, such as those in leadership positions, sports or those advocating for feminism and women's rights, face particularly severe abuse" and accusations of "financial fraud or a conflation with lesbianism".
'Devastating consequences'
Kenya is among the countries trying to force tech companies to take greater responsibility.
Kenyan courts recently ruled they can hear cases brought against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for hate speech on its platforms.
One involves Meareg Amare, a university lecturer in northern Ethiopia murdered in 2021 after Facebook posts – that included his name, photo and address – accusing him of being part of the Tigrayan rebel movement, which his family denies.
Meta announced in January it was ending its fact-checking programme in the United States, and there are fears this may spread to other regions, including Africa.
AFP is involved in a partnership with Meta providing fact-checking services in Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.
"Social media platforms' rollback of content moderation could have devastating consequences in countries such as Ethiopia, where political divisions and threats are significantly surging online," said Mulford.
Ethiopia faces continued political unrest in Tigray, as well as violent insurgencies in other areas and rising tensions with neighbouring Eritrea.
"The failure to moderate is not just allowing hate to thrive, it is enabling violence and human rights violations to go unchecked," said Ethiopian digital rights expert Megdelawit Getahun. – AFP