Computational propaganda: a detriment to democracy

The promise that the internet brings about more openness and interconnectedness and, thereby, democratizes the flow of information, hence the fifth estate, seems to have withered away owing to the very flawed structural design of the internet itself and the behavior of its users. What has now replaced this original promise is the use of the internet by technology companies, governments and powerful people to advance political and economic interests while undermining democracy and its core values. No other means seems to prove more convenient and efficient to disseminate political propaganda than the internet. The last decade has clearly shown the greater extent to which the internet is doing a disservice to democracy in many countries across the globe. The internet disconnects users, creates a circle of likeminded people and breeds polarization through using algorithms. Automated social media accounts, called bots, are employed by states and political actors to amplify propaganda and disinform people. The internet allows surveillance that helps generate unprecedented amount of data about users, which political and economic entities use to carry out psychographic targeting ‘political engineering. More importantly, internet companies reap hundreds of billions of dollars from this coordinated assault on democracy. This phenomenon is referred to as computational propaganda. This paper, therefore, critically discusses the burgeoning digital communication literature regarding computational propaganda. Firstly, the original (now broken) promises of the internet are highlighted. Secondly, computational propaganda is defined.Thirdly, the digital tools of propaganda, for example, algorithmic selection (filter bubbles/echo chambers), surveillance and automatedaccounts (bots), as well as cyber troops, are discussed. Lastly, the state of computational propaganda in Africa, with a focus on Ethiopia, is overviewed.