Using an online survey and interviews, the study examines how social media shaped political participation in Ethiopia during protests and the period after Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in 2018. Platforms including Facebook and Twitter helped draw young people into political discourse, gave formerly marginalized groups greater influence, and strengthened shared cultural and political identities. The study also finds that these opportunities fostered inflammatory expression, hate speech, and political extremism. It argues that in a society with competing collective identities, social media can increase participation within groups while persistently reducing engagement across group boundaries.

Examines how Ethiopia’s ruling party used anti-terrorism legislation to suppress critical speech and create uncertainty about acceptable online expression. Argues that these practices stem from a long-standing centralized neopatrimonial political system and calls for participatory and equitable internet policy reform to protect civic liberties.

The article discusses the ongoing conflicts in Ethiopia, particularly focusing on the clashes over the country's national identity and the violence in regions such as Oromia and Tigray. Global Voices conducted two periods of research to analyze the patterns within Ethiopia’s media ecosystem, with a focus on issues of national and ethnic identity and the Tigray conflict. The assassination of Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa and the subsequent internet shutdown, as well as opposition to the Tigray conflict, were highlighted as significant events. The research, which was qualitative in nature, observed the shifting narratives in Ethiopian media, the media's dependence on government authority, the influence of the Ethiopian diaspora, and rapid narrative changes regarding the Tigray conflict. The data set included 336 media items from over 170 sources, and the study identified 47 themes and 59 narrative frames.