Hands-Off Ethiopia: Western Interventions and Netizen Reactions in the Ethiopian Civil War, 2020–2022

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

This study aims to assess the role of social media in fostering social movements, using the #NoMore campaign as a case study. #NoMore was a social media campaign launched by Ethiopian diaspora members in North America to counter Western interventions in the internal affairs of Ethiopia during the civil war of 2020–2022. The civil war occurred between the federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) following an attack by the TPLF forces on the Ethiopian army. The study is a qualitative inquiry that gathers data from interviews, reviews of social media content and secondary sources including books, articles and working papers. The findings of the study reveal that social media platforms, notably Twitter, were utilised by #NoMore activists who supported the federal government to create networks, coordinate offline protests and organise fundraising campaigns. The study also highlights that social media platforms function as battlegrounds for discursive conflict, where activists supporting opposing factions engage in heated debates reminiscent of actual battlefields. This is evidenced by the opposing reactions to the #NoMore campaign by activists who aligned with the TPLF’s cause. This group of activists initiated the #KnowMore campaign, advocating that before rejecting Western intervention with a ‘no more’ stance, it is imperative to first ‘know more’ about the atrocities inflicted upon Tigrean civilians.