Ethiopia to Build Local Social Media Platform to Rival Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp

 Ethiopia to Build Local Social Media Platform to Rival Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp

Ethiopia said it does not plan to block the global services.

Ethiopia has been engulfed in an armed conflict against the Tigray People's Liberation Front

HIGHLIGHTS

• Facebook said it had removed a network of fake accounts in Ethiopia
• WeChat is widely used in the country
• A trial has already been completed of a platform to replace WhatsApp

Ethiopia has begun developing its own social media platform to rival Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp, though it does not plan to block the global services, the state communications security agency said on Monday.

Ethiopia has been engulfed since last year in an armed conflict pitting the federal government against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the Tigray region in the country's north.

Supporters of both sides have waged a parallel war of words on social media.