Memecracy: Shaping Public Opinion through WhatsApp Data Infrastructure
Résumé
Over the last decade the use of cellphones in developing countries has skyrocketed. However, the use given to these devices, in this particular context, seem to be very limited. In Ecuador, just 30% of these phones have open access to the Internet. The remaining 70% is activated through prepaid packages that offer very limited Internet access, but free and unlimited access to applications such as Facebook and WhatsApp. This commercial strategy, that hides a monopolistic practice, has succeeded in creating probably the largest and most efficient communication infrastructure in the Ecuadorian history. However, beyond its capacity to fulfill its main aim of sharing information freely and rapidly, this infrastructure has become a powerful tool for data collection, diffusion of propaganda, symbolic manipulation and the reshape of public opinion. This paper uses data mining techniques to explore the functioning of this data infrastructure and the ways it reshape public opinion by spreading certain sexist, racists, classists and religious values. We use the WhatsApp network in Quito, Ecuador as a case study. Data will be collected from a sample of WhatsApp groups. On the basis of automatic language comparison techniques, the aim is to identify these messages, their paths of diffusion and viralization and the reactions they produce. We will complete our analysis with in-deep interviews with some members of the groups regarding specific messages that can have an impact on public opinion. This will let us elaborate about the dangers of the deployment of such infrastructure without any regulation