Attachments
By Jonathan Harlander and Maude Morrison
This article summarises preliminary reflections for mediators on social media codes of conduct. Such codes of conduct, to be agreed upon by conflict stakeholders, would aim to prevent and mitigate the use of social media to exacerbate conflicts or jeopardise peace processes. Such codes of conduct would apply to both social media content (specific types of posts and comments such as hate speech) and social media behaviour (specific uses of social media such as coordinated efforts to manipulate public debate).
1. Context
Social media can be used to exacerbate conflicts or widen political divides through, among other things, the dissemination of hate speech and disinformation, the identification and targeting of individuals or constituencies, political manipulation through targeted campaigns, the coordination of violent actions, or the recruitment of combatants.
Social media can also be used to jeopardise peace processes by, among other things, spreading leaks of confidential information about peace negotiations or agreements including the location of talks, the identity of negotiators, and the positions of participants. In addition, social media can be used to target participants and mediators, their families and the constituencies they represent, or to contest the legitimacy of the process or their participants.
Social media exists within a legal, regulatory and normative environment, including, but not limited to, customs, national and local legislations, international rules, such as International humanitarian law and International human rights law, and social media community standards and terms of use. These rules include both fundamental freedoms, such as the right to privacy, thought and expression, and rules forbidding certain behaviours, from defamation to murder.
Prior to the drafting of a social media code of conduct, it is essential to conduct a thorough analysis of the exact context such an agreement would be developed in. This includes identifying social media platforms used, main conflict stakeholders and influencers present on these platforms, and problematic behaviours and content exacerbating conflict or negatively impacting ongoing dialogue efforts. Without this analysis, a code of conduct risks being too vague or inadequate.
Limitations: a code of conduct is only relevant in contexts where social media is proven to have a negative effect on conflict dynamics or risk jeopardising a peace process, and where existing norms are insufficient to prevent or mitigate such uses. A code of conduct is likely to be rejected if it is perceived as unnecessarily impeding fundamental freedoms.