Amanuel Tesfaye
@amanueltesfaye.bsky.social
Doctoral Student @helsinki.fi | AAU & LSE Alumnus | Eyes on Ethiopia and the Horn | Proudly Ethiopian 🇪🇹
Reposted by Amanuel Tesfaye
Bellingcat’s contact email has always been a magnet for people with fairly unusual views; paranoid delusions, sprawling conspiracies, the works. But recently, the pattern has shifted, we’re seeing more and more emails clearly written with ChatGPT.
November 19, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Bellingcat’s contact email has always been a magnet for people with fairly unusual views; paranoid delusions, sprawling conspiracies, the works. But recently, the pattern has shifted, we’re seeing more and more emails clearly written with ChatGPT.
On AI-powered propaganda and #Ethiopia's quest for a port 👇🏾
AI and visual propaganda are being used to stoke tensions as Ethiopia eyes Eritrea's Red Sea Port
As AI makes it significantly cheaper and easier to produce and disseminate content, the use of AI for political propaganda is emerging as a major concern in contemporary democratic societies.
globalvoices.org
October 9, 2025 at 7:52 PM
On AI-powered propaganda and #Ethiopia's quest for a port 👇🏾
📢 New publication alert!
Our paper looking at youth-government relations in post-2018 #Ethiopia is out.
Check it here 👉 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Our paper looking at youth-government relations in post-2018 #Ethiopia is out.
Check it here 👉 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Co-opt and repress: Dynamics of youth-government relations in post-2018 Ethiopia
Three years of youth protests (2015–2018) forced the former ruling party of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to introduce political reforms which amounted to ...
www.tandfonline.com
July 2, 2025 at 11:26 AM
📢 New publication alert!
Our paper looking at youth-government relations in post-2018 #Ethiopia is out.
Check it here 👉 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Our paper looking at youth-government relations in post-2018 #Ethiopia is out.
Check it here 👉 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Our brief explainer re the conflict in the #Amhara region of #Ethiopia >>> theconversation.com/ethiopias-ci...
Ethiopia’s civil war: what’s behind the Amhara rebellion?
The Fano insurgency is taking place in a territory three times the size of Tigray, stretching the army’s resources.
theconversation.com
April 2, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Our brief explainer re the conflict in the #Amhara region of #Ethiopia >>> theconversation.com/ethiopias-ci...
Reposted by Amanuel Tesfaye
"The drone attacks are horrific. But the government’s actions against those who speak about them have become more dreadful."
#Amhara #Ethiopia
www.thereporterethiopia.com/43155/
#Amhara #Ethiopia
www.thereporterethiopia.com/43155/
Suffering In Silence: Drone Strike Victims Unable To Speak Out
Mehal Gob is a small village in the Amhara region’s Bezo Kebele, located just 14 kilometers from Debre Birhan. On Friday, December 6, 2024, residents of the
www.thereporterethiopia.com
December 28, 2024 at 7:43 PM
"The drone attacks are horrific. But the government’s actions against those who speak about them have become more dreadful."
#Amhara #Ethiopia
www.thereporterethiopia.com/43155/
#Amhara #Ethiopia
www.thereporterethiopia.com/43155/
Word of the year 2024 from different sources: Brain rot, Polarization, Brat, Demure, Enshittification, Manifest, Bro-caster, Slop. Which one wins?
December 25, 2024 at 12:32 PM
Word of the year 2024 from different sources: Brain rot, Polarization, Brat, Demure, Enshittification, Manifest, Bro-caster, Slop. Which one wins?
#Ethiopia’s Precarious Economic Reforms foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/19/e...
Ethiopia’s Precarious Economic Reforms
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s aesthetic vision alone will not create jobs.
foreignpolicy.com
December 25, 2024 at 11:58 AM
#Ethiopia’s Precarious Economic Reforms foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/19/e...
They fled in fear from a U.S. ally. So it went after their families. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/1...
They fled in fear from a U.S. ally. So it went after their families.
Rwanda tries to silence critics abroad by targeting relatives back home, at times arresting and torturing them, say former officials and other exiled Rwandans.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 23, 2024 at 1:45 PM
They fled in fear from a U.S. ally. So it went after their families. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/1...
I make stupid little efforts to prevent the algorithm from figuring me out. For instance, whenever I come across a poll, I pick the opposite of what I think. Fight the power 🙃
December 9, 2024 at 8:31 PM
I make stupid little efforts to prevent the algorithm from figuring me out. For instance, whenever I come across a poll, I pick the opposite of what I think. Fight the power 🙃
Reposted by Amanuel Tesfaye
I’ve started a Horn of Africa Starter Pack for those working/interested in that part of the world. Let me know who I’ve missed (and who can add). go.bsky.app/5fNZXxHt
November 15, 2024 at 2:10 PM
I’ve started a Horn of Africa Starter Pack for those working/interested in that part of the world. Let me know who I’ve missed (and who can add). go.bsky.app/5fNZXxHt
Headless Chicken or Emergent Nation: #Ethiopia’s AI Prospects shega.co/news/headles...
Headless Chicken or Emergent Nation: Ethiopia’s AI Prospects
A recent report by Boston Consulting Group classified Ethiopia as an "AI emergent" nation in its AI Maturity Index 2024, highlighting the country's challenges and prospects.
shega.co
December 5, 2024 at 11:34 AM
Headless Chicken or Emergent Nation: #Ethiopia’s AI Prospects shega.co/news/headles...
Reposted by Amanuel Tesfaye
"Still, Byrne had doubts re: the model because of the clear intimacy between American state policy and Meta’s content moderation policy. Meta’s censorship systems are “basically an extension of the government,” Byrne said in an interview." The details are 👁️ opening. theintercept.com/2024/12/04/m...
She Joined Facebook to Fight Terror. Now She’s Convinced We Need to Fight Facebook.
Hannah Byrne joined Facebook to combat far-right extremism. She’s now convinced the tech giant can’t be trusted with such power.
theintercept.com
December 4, 2024 at 10:53 PM
"Still, Byrne had doubts re: the model because of the clear intimacy between American state policy and Meta’s content moderation policy. Meta’s censorship systems are “basically an extension of the government,” Byrne said in an interview." The details are 👁️ opening. theintercept.com/2024/12/04/m...
Reposted by Amanuel Tesfaye
Europe, as a whole, must take a hard look at itself.
Stop blaming social media for your own domestic internal problems.
To suggest TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are causing populist results at the ballot box is to negate voters' choices.
Stop blaming social media for your own domestic internal problems.
To suggest TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are causing populist results at the ballot box is to negate voters' choices.
December 3, 2024 at 10:24 AM
Europe, as a whole, must take a hard look at itself.
Stop blaming social media for your own domestic internal problems.
To suggest TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are causing populist results at the ballot box is to negate voters' choices.
Stop blaming social media for your own domestic internal problems.
To suggest TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are causing populist results at the ballot box is to negate voters' choices.
Insomnia that keeps awake just enough braincells to doomscroll, but not enough to do anything rewarding like read or watch a movie. Purgatory.
December 2, 2024 at 9:42 PM
Insomnia that keeps awake just enough braincells to doomscroll, but not enough to do anything rewarding like read or watch a movie. Purgatory.
Reposted by Amanuel Tesfaye
"Paid verification through Twitter Blue eroded the trust that had long underpinned the platform. What had once been a tool to verify credibility and authority became a subscription perk, opening the door to impersonation and misinformation."
The social media shift: why Twitter unravelling was inevitable
Elon Musk was the catalyst, but the ideological struggle of Twitter made its collapse inevitable
northwestbylines.co.uk
December 2, 2024 at 8:02 PM
"Paid verification through Twitter Blue eroded the trust that had long underpinned the platform. What had once been a tool to verify credibility and authority became a subscription perk, opening the door to impersonation and misinformation."
Service providers: we'll give you a one percent discount if you give us your email address so we can spam you until the day you die.
Me: You've got yourself a deal 🤝
Me: You've got yourself a deal 🤝
December 2, 2024 at 5:45 PM
Service providers: we'll give you a one percent discount if you give us your email address so we can spam you until the day you die.
Me: You've got yourself a deal 🤝
Me: You've got yourself a deal 🤝
Comprehensive report re the civil war in #Amhara region of #Ethiopia. thereportermagazines.com/3399/
Caught in the Crossfire: A Firsthand Account of Civilian Life in Battle-Scarred Amhara Region
More than a year since fighting broke out, life in the conflict-ridden Amhara Regional State remains uncertain and unforgiving for
thereportermagazines.com
December 2, 2024 at 1:28 PM
Comprehensive report re the civil war in #Amhara region of #Ethiopia. thereportermagazines.com/3399/
Meanwhile, Telegram is unleashing horror on women and girls in Ethiopia shega.co/news/hidden-...
Hidden Horror: How Ethiopia’s Digital Underground Revenge Porn Industry Preys on Young Women
A six-month-long investigation by Shega has uncovered over a dozen Telegram channels profiting from leaked images and videos of Ethiopian women.
shega.co
December 2, 2024 at 10:29 AM
Meanwhile, Telegram is unleashing horror on women and girls in Ethiopia shega.co/news/hidden-...
Reposted by Amanuel Tesfaye
The African Initiative is part of an opaque network of groups that Western officials and analysts say the Kremlin uses to boost Russia’s image — and tarnish that of Western countries — as it seeks to restore its influence in Africa.
Inside the effort to market Russia and Putin to Africans
The Africa Initiative is part of an opaque network of groups that Western officials and analysts say the Kremlin uses to spread Russian influence in Africa.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 1, 2024 at 5:06 PM
The African Initiative is part of an opaque network of groups that Western officials and analysts say the Kremlin uses to boost Russia’s image — and tarnish that of Western countries — as it seeks to restore its influence in Africa.
Should we now be surprised if Agent Orange gets in the White House and pardons himself of all past, present, and future crimes? :-)
December 2, 2024 at 9:42 AM
Should we now be surprised if Agent Orange gets in the White House and pardons himself of all past, present, and future crimes? :-)
#Ethiopia: Suspension of three human rights organizations highlights growing crackdown on civic space www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Ethiopia's suspension of three human rights organizations highlights growing crackdown on civic space
The federal government should immediately reverse these suspensions, which are in violation of the human rights to association and freedom of expression and should never have happened in the first pla...
www.amnesty.org
November 26, 2024 at 8:04 PM
#Ethiopia: Suspension of three human rights organizations highlights growing crackdown on civic space www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Reposted by Amanuel Tesfaye
Made in Ethiopia review – knotty study unpicks China’s industrial influence in Africa
Made in Ethiopia review – knotty study unpicks China’s industrial influence in Africa
Three women – a manager, a worker and a farmer – tell their stories in this nuanced exploration of Ethiopia’s booming Chinese-led manufacturing sector
It’s win-win, says a Chinese businesswoman talking to a group of Ethiopian farmers protesting against…
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2024 at 9:07 AM
Made in Ethiopia review – knotty study unpicks China’s industrial influence in Africa
Reposted by Amanuel Tesfaye
Trump has vowed to crack down on universities involved in misinformation research, or what he dubs the "censorship cartel" - e.g. by curbing funds to those that have "flagged content for removal”, or legal threats
“I'm pretty fucking scared," one professor tells me.
www.ft.com/content/bfb4...
“I'm pretty fucking scared," one professor tells me.
www.ft.com/content/bfb4...
Donald Trump’s return sends shivers through the anti-misinformation world
Vow to crack down on the ‘censorship cartel’ has researchers worried — and Big Tech is on notice
www.ft.com
November 24, 2024 at 5:03 PM
Trump has vowed to crack down on universities involved in misinformation research, or what he dubs the "censorship cartel" - e.g. by curbing funds to those that have "flagged content for removal”, or legal threats
“I'm pretty fucking scared," one professor tells me.
www.ft.com/content/bfb4...
“I'm pretty fucking scared," one professor tells me.
www.ft.com/content/bfb4...