There are a lot of platitudes about the role of end-to-end encrypted messaging services in society. Yet we know very little about how West Africans use these platforms. This exceptional book fills that gap, leveraging interviews and case studies to shed light on how WhatsApp is shaping politics, the media, trade, and associations. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to move beyond speculation and understand how people are actually using WhatsApp. * Shelby Grossman, Research Scholar, Stanford Internet Observatory *
WhatsApp and Everyday life in West Africa is a rich source of material on all that is the power and danger of WhatsApp in Africa: how it is used and the impact of such uses, from the easy of spread of disinformation to democratizing the ability to communicate and engage with a wide audience. Hassan and Hitchen's book is a must have reference for activists, academics and civil society organizations working in human rights, civic engagement, democracy, elections, free press and disinformation, sustainable development. Now more than ever, in a time of ideological cleavages and rising authoritarianism as well as in a time of hope that we can reimagine what our societies can be, we must understand how to ensure the benefits of Whatsapp to our global and local communities, outweighs the disadvantages. * Ayisha Osori, Director, Open Society Foundations *
This book is a refreshing take on how WhatsApp is imbricated in the everyday lives of Africans. The contributors and editors complicate the situatedness of WhatsApp in the cultural, social, economic, religious and political imaginary of African communities. They highlight the silenced stories around digital media use bringing attention especially to how marginalized groups like women use the app to subvert patriarchal restrictions on their participation in the public sphere and navigate their everyday lives while mobilizing for change. * Dr. Wunpini Fatimata Mohammed, Assistant Professor of Global Media, University of Georgia, USA *
Hassan and Hitchen's edited collection of diverse accounts of WhatsApp use in West Africa provides a much-needed empirical perspective on social media outside of western contexts. It quickly moves beyond any arbitrary separation of on- and offline lives, to reveal how people's use of WhatsApp is bound up with the particularities of place and history. This book offers an important and grounded perspective into diverse experiences of WhatsApp in West Africa, a necessary starting point for a global understanding of digital platforms in everyday life. * Stephanie Diepeveen, Research Associate, University of Cambridge, UK *
