SOCIAL MEDIA AND CONFLICT IN CAMEROON.

CAMEROON’S DEEPENING CRISIS

A rich and complicated colonial history, poor governance, a deterioration in rule of law, corruption and suppression of free speech and human rights have created a steadily worsening conflict scenario in Cameroon known as the Anglophone Crisis. The crisis has cost hundreds of lives and displaced an estimated 200,000 in the country’s Northwest and Southwest regions since it began in 2016. Presidential elections in October 2018 accelerated the crisis and atrocities continue to be committed by both sides.

PUTTING AN END TO A DANGEROUS TREND

Within this context, PeaceTech Lab undertook extensive research to understand the role that online hate speech plays in the ongoing crisis. Rooted in a series of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with expert insights from local Cameroonians, Social Media and Conflict in Cameroon, published in October 2018, identifies and explains inflammatory and offensive terms that contribute to the Anglophone Crisis while offering alternative words and phrases that can be used to prevent and stop the spread of hate speech. PeaceTech Lab aims for this Lexicon to serve as a pivotal resource for individuals and organizations fighting against hate speech in Cameroon.