Social media in peace mediation: a practical framework
Format
Main authors: David Lanz, Ahmed Eleiba, Enrico Formica, Camino Kavanagh
While mediation remains a fundamentally human-led endeavour, the importance of digital technology in peace processes is growing. Mediators and their teams need to be prepared to use digital tools and address digital risks. This especially applies to social media, given its widespread and rapidly increasing use. According to one estimate, by the start of 2021, there were some 4.2 billion active social media users – 53% of the global population – of whom women users accounted for 45.9%. In 2020, 490 million new users joined social media, a growth rate of 13.2%. On average, users have accounts on eight different platforms and spend two-and-a-half hours per day on social media. As a result, social media increasingly shapes political and social interactions and, indeed, people’s perceptions of reality.