This chapter examines how social media algorithms moderate indigenous political text, with a specific focus on the regulation of vulgarity. As digital platforms become central to political interactions, concerns arise over whether algorithmic moderation upholds ethical principles and promote freedom of expression in the African context. Grounded in Afrocentric perspective of decoloniality, this chapter investigates how social media platforms detect, flag, and regulate vulgar political texts, somehow disadvantaging or advantaging the African nature of political culture. Through qualitative content analysis, the study explores algorithmic bias, patterns of flagged content, and the broader implications for African democratic engagement. The findings highlight how Western-imposed ethical norms embedded in algorithms suppress English idiomatic expressions, resulting in a digital gatekeeping that marginalises voices, on the other hand, unfiltering indigenous vulgarity. The chapter argues that a decolonial turn in digital policy is necessary to cultivate context-sensitive and inclusive political communication with Afrocentric algorithms that can ethically monitor the extent of vulgarity in indigenous languages at the same time observing freedoms of free speech.

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Social Media Algorithm and the Moderation of Vulgarity in Political Text: An Afrocentric Perspective

  • Ontiretse Motingwa,
  • Gofaone Cascious Motsamai,
  • Phenyo Walter Mokgothu,
  • Limukani Mathe

摘要

This chapter examines how social media algorithms moderate indigenous political text, with a specific focus on the regulation of vulgarity. As digital platforms become central to political interactions, concerns arise over whether algorithmic moderation upholds ethical principles and promote freedom of expression in the African context. Grounded in Afrocentric perspective of decoloniality, this chapter investigates how social media platforms detect, flag, and regulate vulgar political texts, somehow disadvantaging or advantaging the African nature of political culture. Through qualitative content analysis, the study explores algorithmic bias, patterns of flagged content, and the broader implications for African democratic engagement. The findings highlight how Western-imposed ethical norms embedded in algorithms suppress English idiomatic expressions, resulting in a digital gatekeeping that marginalises voices, on the other hand, unfiltering indigenous vulgarity. The chapter argues that a decolonial turn in digital policy is necessary to cultivate context-sensitive and inclusive political communication with Afrocentric algorithms that can ethically monitor the extent of vulgarity in indigenous languages at the same time observing freedoms of free speech.