By Yiep Joseph
Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA) has cautioned South Sudanese citizens, both within the country and abroad, against using social media to incite violence and spread harmful speechmaking.
This concern comes amid rising social media incitement as the country experiences tensions and armed confrontations that are undermining the fragile peace agreement. This has exacerbated anxieties among the population.
In a statement, CPA Executive Director Ter Manyang called upon South Sudanese to utilize social media platforms constructively, focusing on promoting peace and national unity.
He specifically urged members of the diaspora to leverage their online presence to support peace-building initiatives and development efforts within the country.
“The CPA calls upon the diaspora community to utilize social media effectively to promote meaningful initiatives such as scholarships, workshop training, and fellowships,” he said.
The Activist expressed that tension in the country requires every South Sudanese to take part and spread messages that build peace.
He also appealed to leaders in South Sudan to stop the use of inflammatory words that can fuelled conflict.
“The CPA reminds political leaders to think before they speak, as their words can contribute to the spread of hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation” he appealed.
The Civil Society activists expressed commitment to ensure that dialogue becomes a means of solving misunderstandings in the country rather than confrontations.
Recently, Minister of Information, Communication, Technology, and Postal Services Michael Makuei Lueth, warned the public against the abuse of social media.
Makuei warned social media users to stop spreading unverified information and hate speech, which can incite fear among the public.
“We are supposed to use our social media for peace and harmony for social coexistence not to agitate war and encourage lawlessness and disorder social media users are advised to abide and respect the use of social media responsibly otherwise at the end of the day you find yourself in conflict with the law,” he said.
He appealed to the public to remain calm and not be swayed by online misinformation.
“My advice to the public is to ignore the negative propaganda circulating on social media. These wild rumours can be dangerous when people read them and react impulsively,” he cautioned.