Challenging the construction of the non-Western ‘other’: a comparative critical discourse analysis of children’s aid organizations on Facebook

(1)

Challenging the construction of the non-Western ‘other’: a comparative critical

discourse analysis of children’s aid organizations on Facebook

Joshua McDonald

Faculty of Humanities: Media Studies New Media & Digital Culture

Universiteit van Amsterdam

Supervisor: Dr. P. (Maxigas) Dunajcsik

(2)

There is a long-standing debate regarding how to portray aid recipients in a dignified and authentic way. Critics have argued that within the development sector, communications have overwhelmingly been victim-focused and have perpetuated negative stereotypes of the Global South. As non-governmental organizations (NGO) move their activities online, several scholars have emphasized the potential of new media platforms to address problematic representations within the sector. Instead of historically homogenous portrayals from large-scale organizations, social media’s affordances offer smaller organizations a quick, accessible means of transmitting information globally. It suggests that giving a platform to historically overlooked populations may facilitate a discourse that confronts traditionally Western-driven narratives. This thesis seeks to contribute to this growing debate by looking at the communication of four NGOs: Save the Children International and ChildFund International based in the United States, Smile Africa in Uganda, and the Dolly Children Foundation in Nigeria. The organizations’ Facebook activity was tracked for a month and analyzed with a Critical Discourse Analysis approach. The results indicate that indeed, the platform does provide a space to present alternative representations. However, these actions are mediated through a platform where smaller organizations increasingly struggle to gain visibility. These results indicate that international organizations continue to play a dominant role in the portrayal of the Global South.

(4)

1. Introduction

I first met my friend while doing an internship in Botswana at the end of 2016. As a Motswana woman working within Maun, the small village that acts as the tourism hub of the country, she often found herself interacting with tourists. With tourism being the country’s second largest industry, Botswana has gained a worldwide reputation for pristine wildlife and regularly plays host to wealthy visitors, primarily from Europe and North America. Speaking candidly about these experiences, she expressed frustration that many visitors often knew little about the country beyond the wildlife, illness, and sometimes diamonds portrayed in the media. Speaking specifically about donor videos, she questioned why flies so frequently seem to play supporting roles – tropes within the development sector – and insinuated that they were intentionally placed to portray a specific narrative. These conversations are the founding inspiration of this thesis.

In recent decades, development organizations have faced heavy criticism for their portrayal of their intended beneficiaries in the Global South (Baberini et al., 2015; Breeze & Dean, 2012; Chouliaraki, 2010; Chouliaraki & Stolic, 2017; Orgad, 2012, 2013). For example, campaigns from organizations such as Oxfam and Red Cross (see Illustration 1) have been ‘victim-orientated’ and ultimately continue to “reproduce historical tropes of colonial imagery” (Chouliaraki & Stolic, 2017, p. 1164). If humanitarian organizations play a role in ‘moral education’ as Lilie Chouliaraki (2013) suggests, then they have a responsibility to represent their intended beneficiaries in a dignified way (p. 57).

Illustration 1: ChildFund (formerly Christian Children’s Fund) Television Campaign (ChildFund: Amazing

(5)

The lens the Global South have been portrayed through, however, has largely been one of famine and conflict (Escobar, 2012; Orgad, 2012; Said, 1979). Edward Said (1979) argues that beyond the physical colonial domination of the West over the rest of the world, dominance also involved a complex process of controlling the representation of non-Western peoples. In an effort to differentiate itself, he suggests that the West represented the ‘Orient’ (or the ‘East’) as ‘backwards and primitive,’ thereby positioning itself as morally superior and powerful. These systems of representation, supported by reductive colonial discourses, worked to define and label non-Europeans as ‘other’ to perpetuate and justify unequal social hierarchies (Said, 1979). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2016) contests that when a people or nation are shown through a single lens, it is both dehumanizing and undignified. This perception emphasizes our differences, making it difficult to recognize our common humanity (Adichie, 2016).

While NGOs have faced criticism for their portrayals, there has been little research into how or whether ‘new media’ influence how beneficiaries are portrayed. With the increasing popularity of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, non-governmental organizations (NGO) have moved much of their communication activity online (Agozzino & Fleck, 2016). Instead of traditionally homogenous portrayals from large-scale organizations, social media platforms’ affordances provide organizations in the Global South with a quick, cost-effective means of transmitting content globally (Bennett, 2003; Bucher & Helmond, 2018; Nolan, 2018). It has been suggested that by giving a platform to otherwise overlooked populations, perhaps social media could be used as a tool to confront problematic portrayals within the Global South (Fürsich, 2010; Godin & Doná, 2016; Orgad, 2012).

This thesis therefore aims to answer the question: ‘to what extent can Facebook be used as a tool to challenge the construction of the ‘other’ within development communications?’ This study looks at the posting activity of four NGOs on Facebook: two international organizations and two ‘grassroots’ organizations. The term ‘grassroots’ is here used here to describe an organization started and operated by individuals within the community in which it is based. This stands in contrast with international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) that are primarily based within one country (typically a Western country) yet, also conduct their operations abroad. The organizations are: Save the Children International and ChildFund International based in the United States, Smile Africa in Uganda, and the Dolly Children

Foundation in Nigeria.

The Facebook activity of these organizations was tracked for a month and the results were analyzed with a Critical Discourse Analysis approach. Rooted in the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault, this approach asserts the view that power is inherently discursive (Feltwell et al., 2017). It is a

(6)

method that is harnessed to bring to light how phenomenon such as social inequality are enacted, resisted, and reproduced (Gellen & Lowe, 2020). The results indicate that Facebook does indeed provide a space for grassroots organizations to create a discourse that confronts dominant representations (Feltwell et al., 2017, p. 7). Key trends also reveal that the organizations utilize two key affordances, comments and fundraising, in different ways, leading to distinct communicative outcomes. However, while the platform does provide a space for smaller organizations to present diverging narratives, these actions are mediated through a platform where smaller organizations increasingly struggle to gain visibility. Despite initial emancipatory promises, Facebook’s commercial interests ultimately constrain the platform’s potential to be a space to meaningfully challenge hegemonic narratives. This suggests that INGOs still play a vital role in the representation of the Global South and as such, they must address the role they play in perpetuating the notion of the ‘other.’

The second chapter looks at existing literature concerning the history of development as a field and further elaborates on the role that communications plays in the financial stability of NGOs. The third chapter, Postcolonialism and New Media, outlines the theoretical framework by looking at the concept of representation and investigates how discursive power plays a vital role in the symbolic ‘shaping’ of the Global South. This question of power is then brought into the realm of new media to question whether platforms, more specifically Facebook, have the potential to create a space to challenge dominant discourse within the sector. The fourth chapter outlines the selection of the organizations and the methodology, while the fifth chapter details the results. Chapter six, Discussion, breaks down the common themes and tropes identified within the data. Lastly, the conclusion recalls the study’s main findings and proposes new directions of study for further research.

2. Literature Review: History of Development

Referred to as a ‘microphone for the masses,’ social media has been touted as “a medium for forging connections between people, ideas, and things” (van Dijck, 2012, p. 164). Indeed, within the first decade of its rise, social media has fundamentally reshaped the infrastructure of the internet and influenced the way that societies organize themselves (van Dijck & Poell, 2015). Orgad (2012) argues that new media platforms, particularly ‘participatory online sites,’ have been able to provide meaningful spaces for disenfranchised populations such as migrants. As these voices have traditionally been overlooked by mainstream media, “[n]ew media allow migrants to speak for themselves about their experiences and hardship, and to voice their frustrations, rage and fears” (p. 128). In particular, social

(7)

media platforms offer an opportunity to present alternative narratives that have been absent within the development sector.

The origins of the concept of development are difficult to establish. However, the ‘contemporary’ understanding of the term is often traced back to United States President Harry Truman’s Inaugural Speech in 1949 (Banerjee, 2003; Beaudet et al., 2017). In it, Truman argued that much of the suffering experienced in the world was unnecessary. Due to “scientific advances and industrial progress,” he argued that there must be “improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas” (Beaudet et al., 2017, p. 4). As a ‘developed’ nation, he suggested that it was their responsibility to help those less fortunate in ‘underdeveloped’ areas – to assist those “living in conditions approaching misery” (Beaudet et al., 2017, p. 4). Arturo Escobar (2012) suggests that this speech ushered in a new era in the “understanding and management of world affairs,” particularly concerning the “less economically accomplished” regions of the world (p. 3). The goal was quite ambitious: to replicate the ‘advanced’ characteristics of Western societies; to ‘modernize’ the underdeveloped regions of the world (Escobar, 2012).

Beyond introducing the modern understanding of development, Truman’s explanation of ‘underdeveloped areas’ also insinuated the existence of a global hierarchy. This usage suggested that there is a single, overarching ‘scale’ on which all countries’ success or progress is compared in relation to each other (Beaudet et al., 2017). Similarly, the term ‘Third World’ emerged shortly after and has been deemed patronizing or pejorative (Beaudet et al., 2017). Subsequently, other terms such as ‘two-third world,’ ‘newly industrialized,’ and ‘majority world’ have emerged to describe these regions, each with their own challenges. The most commonly used term within the development lexicon is ‘developing countries’ (Beaudet et al., 2017). However, this term proves to be problematic as it is assigned to countries that have perceivably not yet reached ‘rich’ or ‘developed’ status in terms of their gross domestic product. Like those that have preceded it, the term suggests a global hierarchy where lower income countries should strive for economic growth. In response, the term ‘Global South’ has recently grown favor within the sector for its ability to more accurately “incorporate the centrality of historical and contemporary patterns of wealth and power into a loosely geographically defined concept” (Beaudet et al., 2017, p. 7). Consequently, it will be the term used throughout this paper.

Today’s dominant usage of ‘Development,’ is typically understood as ‘virtually synonymous’ with the ‘economic growth and modernity’ that emerged in the post-World War II period (Beaudet et al., 2017, p. 16). There has been much discussion of the meaning of the term as the range of actors engaging within the development field vary from government agencies to multilateral organizations such as the United

(8)

Nations, to Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO) such as Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières. However, critics argue that development has done little to address longstanding inequalities or injustices (Escobar, 2012; Rist, 2010; Watts, 2005).

Escobar (2012) suggests that the colonial roots of both the practice and the concept call into question the legitimacy of contemporary development practice. Instead of bringing equality and opportunity to the rest of the world, he argues that it has caused the opposite: underdevelopment, impoverishment, and violence, as well as exploitation and oppression. Instead of benefitting the intended ‘beneficiaries’ (another contested term), he suggests that development has been about ‘civilizing and modernizing’ non-Western societies (Escobar, 2012). Rooted in histories of colonization, these systems continue to label supposed beneficiaries as ‘victims’ in need of saving by intervention by the superior ‘developed’ countries (Chouliaraki & Stolic, 2017).

History of NGO Communications

Unlike other sectors which are profit-driven, NGOs primarily rely on donations to sustain their operations. Consequently, they are often largely dependent on the success of their communications to generate funds (Orgad, 2013). However, within the field, there is often fierce competition for limited donor funds. Within the United States alone, charities spend more than seven billion dollars a year trying to persuade citizens to donate to their causes (Baberini et al., 2015).

Communications often attempt to create what Shani Orgad (2013) refers to as ‘solidarity’ between distant sufferers and potential donors. While NGOs often have ambitions of empowering their beneficiaries, she argues that in an attempt to appeal to donors, communications departments often use imagery that is most likely to emotionally engage audiences, to “awaken social conscience, cultivate and enact solidarity, and consequently affect political change” (p. 2). Indeed, “it is the image of the emaciated child rather than the active, self-sufficient, empowered individual that is most likely to translate into emotional engagement” and ultimately generate the most funds (Orgad, 2013, p. 9). For instance, images such as the one shown in Illustration 2 have long populated TV screens and magazine pages. As such, NGOs are often placed in a precarious position where their efforts to provide ethically sound representations of their beneficiaries is at odds with their donation targets (Orgad, 2013).

(9)

Illustration 2: ChildFund (formerly Christian Children’s Fund) Television Campaign (ChildFund: Break,

n.d.)

Chouliaraki (2010) argues that early non-profit communications often resorted to ‘shock effect’ methods to appeal to donors. For example, these early appeals depicted “suffering in its plain reality” (p. 110). The imagery in Illustrations 3 and 4 demonstrate the ‘raw realism’ that depicted individuals whose bodies denote extreme states of malnourishment. Devoid of individualizing features, Chouliaraki (2013) argues that the children become ‘fetishized’ and the strategies of these appeals are ‘victim-oriented,’ that is, they focus on the “distant sufferer as the object of our contemplation” (p. 58; Cohen, 2001). This establishes a social relationship that is ultimately anchored on the ‘colonial gaze’ and is intended to highlight the contrast between those living a life of suffering and the thriving healthy bodies of the West (Chouliaraki, 2010, p. 110). Its appeal to donors is predicated on guilt, shame, and indignation.

(10)

Illustration 4: Disasters Emergency Committee 1980-1984. Part of a campaign that brought in $23

million for famine relief in Ethiopia (Gharib, 2015)

In later years, Chouliaraki (2010) suggests that in response to ‘shock effect’ appeals, another form of communication emerged: the ‘positive image’ appeal. This approach fundamentally rejects the idea of the ‘sufferer as a victim’ and instead focuses on their agency and dignity. While this theoretically addresses concerns of guilt and shame, it also risks being misrecognized as adequately addressing issues within the Global South (Chouliaraki, 2010). This approach can be viewed as glossing over the reality of distant sufferers.

These approaches, however, are not at odds with each other. Instead, Chouliaraki (2010) argues that within contemporary humanitarian communications, both ‘shock effect’ and ‘positive image’ appeals play a dominant role. They are “co-existing and often complementing one another” (p. 122). Save the Children UK came under fire in 2013 for their representation of a child in one of their television ads (see illustration 5). In response, the organization’s spokeswoman defended the advertisement stating that they were committed to “showing the reality of the situation” and they do not “shy away from the issues vulnerable children around the world face” (Endong, 2020, p. 74). The organization states that the ad was one of their most successful of all time.

(11)

Illustration 5: Save the Children UK 2013 (Gharib, 2015)

In response to such ads, Chouliaraki (2010) argues that humanitarian organizations play an active role in what she refers to as ‘moral education.’ She argues that NGOs influence how we should feel and respond to those who are suffering. Since these images are introduced by the media (television, internet or magazines) into the mundane aspects our everyday lives, they “shape our longer-term dispositions to action by way of ‘habituation’” (Chouliaraki, 2010, p. 110). Orgad (2012) refers to this shaping as the ‘global imagination.’ In this, the “global imagination is enabled through, cultivated by and emerges via an ongoing process of symbolic construction of the real and the possible in image and narrative” (p. 3). She argues that this ‘imagination’ is shaped by the symbolic representation we experience on a day-to-day basis – largely from the media – and influences how we understand others and our own place in the world.

Within this competitive donor landscape, NGO communications have largely relied on extreme depictions of distant suffering to evoke an emotional response and generate funds. This representation, one that deprives people of agency and dignity, decontextualizes misery and paints an inaccurate and distorted picture of the Global South – one that is a “theatre of tragedy and disaster” (Orgad, 2013, p. 8). As NGOs are a significant component of global governance structures, they play an active role in nourishing the “moral imagination of the West” (Chouliaraki, 2010, p. 109). Arturo Escobar (2012) suggests that these portrayals are the “clearest example of developmentalist representations” and illustrate the power imbalance between the ‘first’ and the ‘third’ world:

To be blunt, one could say that the body of the malnourished – the starving “African” portrayed on so many covers of Western magazines, or the lethargic South American child to be “adopted” for $16 a month portrayed in the advertisements of the same magazines – is the most striking

(12)

symbol of the power of the First World over the Third. A whole economy of discourse and unequal power relations is encoded in that body. (p. 103)

If development organizations have a responsibility as ‘moral educators’ to represent their ‘beneficiaries’ with dignity, it is important to understand the role representation plays.

3. Theoretical Framework: Postcolonialism and New Media

Representation and Power

Stuart Hall

Sociologist and cultural theorist Stuart Hall (2013) states that representation “connects meaning and language to culture” (p. 1). In this, he suggests that it is the “link between concepts and language which enables us to refer to either the ‘real’ world of objects, people or events, or indeed to imaginary worlds of fictional objects, people and events” (p. 3). The main function of representation is to “produce meaning, to capture in some way ‘reality’ in signs” (Orgad, 2012, p. 17). This process of ‘re-presenting’ is one in which meaning is produced using systems of signs. Representation is therefore an ongoing process of meaning production (Orgad, 2012).

This process of meaning production has been theorized in two main ways: reflectionist and constructionist (Orgad, 2012). Reflectionist argues that representations function like a mirror that reflects true meaning of what is present within the world (Hall, 1997). This concept is best exemplified by the photograph. As a camera captures the ‘true reality’ of what is photographed, there is a longstanding belief that it is an “inherently objective medium of representation” (Barthes & Heath, 1987; Orgad, 2012, p. 18). While this is a notion that is often endorsed within popular media, the ability to get different viewpoints from various sources highlights the fundamental point that of course, representations are never a simple mirror of reality.

The second, the constructionist approach, points out the ‘naivety’ of the reflectionist approach and argues that certainly, any representation is inevitably a construction – a selective and specific depiction of certain elements of reality that always generate some specific meanings while excluding others (Orgad, 2012). Susan Sontag (2005) asserts that what is represented about a person or an event is ‘interpretation’ of a reality, not a mirror. She elaborates by stating that “images do not seem to be

(13)

statements about the world so much as pieces of it” (p. 2). Of course, the material world still exists from this viewpoint. However, it is not the material world that conveys meaning:

we give things meaning by how we represent them – the words we use about them, the stories we tell about them, the images of them we produce, the emotions we associate with them, the ways we classify and conceptualize them, the value we place on them. (Hall, 1997, p. 3)

This notion suggests that things do not inherently have meaning. Instead, it is us who construct and produce meaning, it is the practice “that makes things mean” (Hall, 2013, p. 10). Since it is social actors that attach meaning to objects, media representations are encoded with power relations and inherently “reproduce power relations by constructing knowledge, values, conceptions and beliefs” (Orgad, 2012, p. 25).

Michel Foucault

This notion of power is explored by French philosopher Michel Foucault who argues that the act of representation itself transforms power relations (Orgad, 2012). Foucault was concerned with the production of knowledge through what he referred to as ‘discourse’ (Hall, 2013). By discourse, a term traditionally used as a linguistic concept, Foucault means “a group of statements which provide a language for talking about – a way of representing the knowledge about – a particular topic at a particular historical moment” (Hall, 2013, p. 28). Rather than being a medium or tool to express already-formed knowledge, discourse is instead what ‘produces’ knowledge (Orgad, 2012).

The concept does not attempt to determine whether things exist, instead, its main focus is to establish where meaning comes from (Hall, 2013). For example, subjects such as ‘madness’ or ‘sexuality,’ he argues, only exist meaningfully within the discourses about them. The term ‘mental illness,’ is not an objective fact that remains the same throughout history or across cultures. Therefore, it is only within discourse that the object ‘madness’ could become a meaningful or comprehensible construct (Hall, 2013). According to Foucault (1972), it was “constituted by all that was said, in all the statements that named it, divided it up, described it, explained it, traced its development, indicated its various correlations, judged it, and possibly gave it speech by articulating, in its name, discourses that were to be taken as its own” (p. 32).

In this way, Foucault argues that bringing things into the realm of discourse “works also to inscribe them in hegemonic structures” which thus “help to create and legitimate the authority of experts” (Orgad,

(14)

2012, p. 28). Within the field of NGO communications, texts and images play a ‘transformative’ and ‘enabling’ role in both challenging and altering power relations. While this can challenge dominant power relations, it can also work to legitimize certain discourses, inscribing them into the mainstream (Orgad, 2012). The power in representation therefore resides in “producing certain ‘truth effects’ and legitimizing certain discursive regimes, while rendering others illegitimate, deviant and ‘false’” (Orgad, 2012, p. 28).

Knowledge is in turn linked to power and “not only assumes the authority of ‘the truth’, but has the power to make itself true” (Hall, 2013, p. 33). Foucault’s work plays a critical role in not only historically situating particular images and narratives, but it also investigates symbolic exclusion and inclusion (Orgad, 2012, p. 28). In particular, Foucault 's work on the dynamics of discourse and power in the depiction of social reality was instrumental in “unveiling the mechanisms by which a certain order of discourse produces permissible modes of being and thinking while disqualifying and even making others impossible” (Escobar, 2012, p. 5). Furthermore, Foucault’s discourse has played a vital role in the development of postcolonialism.

Postcolonialism

Edward Said

Postcolonialism emerged as an academic field of study in the late 1970s and early 1980s (R. Nichols, 2010). Though its origin is widely believed to have originated with Edward Said’s seminal book, Orientalism, in 1978, the term is often difficult to define (Khalil, 2004; Krishnan, 2012; R. Nichols, 2010). Julian Go (2013) argues that postcolonial theory is “a loosely coherent body of writing and thought that critiques and aims to transcend the structures supportive of Western colonialism and its legacies” (p. 29). Meanwhile, Seifudein Adem (2014) adds that the theory “articulates the dissatisfaction of the Third World with its condition of existence; it is the challenge and rejection of Eurocentric narratives and exposure of what they misrepresent or erase; it is also the formulation of alternative historical interpretations” (p. 136). Postcolonialism is therefore significant as it “opens up possibilities for resisting dominant discourse of representation and power by framing its own ‘counternarratives” (Chowdhry & Nair, 2014, p. 26). As a field, postcolonialism largely attempts to address the legacy, impacts, and dynamics of colonial oppression (Adem, 2014).

Said’s account draws on Foucault, who demands that media representations are analyzed in terms of their interaction with wider public discourse and sources of power at particular historical moments (Orgad, 2012). He argues that the Western colonial and imperial governance over the rest of the world

(15)

was not only a project of direct physical domination and control. Rather, he argues that it also involved a “complex process of dominating the representation of non‑Western peoples through the production of specific forms of knowledge about the non-West” (R. Nichols, 2010, p. 119). Speaking specifically of ‘The East’ (individuals in Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East), Said (1979) argues that the West’s historically patronizing representations created a binary dichotomy. The East, or the ‘Orient,’ was framed as being opposite of the West.

Said (1979) argues that although all cultures impose some “corrections on raw reality,” modifying it from objects into units of knowledge, this ultimately results in the transformation of other cultures “for the benefit of the receiver” (p. 67). In the case of the ‘Orient,’ he argues that its function was to establish the inferiority of the East in relation to the West. The Orientalist is thus only concerned with the Orient in this regard as long as its knowledge helps to develop their own identity and supremacy (Orgad, 2012). This divide further separates the two and “the Oriental becomes more Oriental, the Westerner more Western” (p. 46). Representing the East as ‘primitive’ and ‘backwards’ worked to reinforce the self-perception of the West as more powerful, morally superior, and more impressive (Khalil, 2004). Thusly, the ‘Orient’ was conceptualized and delegated to ‘other’ by the West.

One of the central features of this representative discourse is that the ‘Orient’ remains unable to speak for itself. It is always controlled by some interpretation of the truism that “if the Orient could represent itself, it would; since it cannot, the representation does the job, for the West, and faute de mieux, for the poor Orient” (Said, 1979, p. 21). This process not only removed representational authority from non-Western peoples, but it also shaped and distorted the images and knowledge about them. It ultimately justified the ongoing physical, military colonization of their lands (R. Nichols, 2010). The selfhood of the ‘other’ is therefore:

passively and secondarily formed in relation to a positionally superior, moulding West, which produces and defines the Other by projecting onto it everything that it imagines itself not to be-weak, mysterious, irrational, subjugated, inferior and a range of other, mostly negative, value-laden categories. (Khalil, 2004, p. 322)

This “linear and uninterrupted construction of the Orient as ‘Other’ over many centuries became the basis and rationale for colonial oppression” and served to reinforce the Western identity (Salazar, 2008, p. 173).

Scholar Achille Mbembe (2001) argues that this symbolic annihilation went beyond the East. “It is in relation to Africa,” he states that the “notion of ‘absolute otherness’ has been taken the furthest” (p.

(16)

2). Speaking specifically of Africa’s portrayal, he argues that the continent stands out as the “supreme receptacle of the West’s obsession with, and circular discourse about, the facts of ‘absence,’ ‘lack,’ and ‘non-being,’ of identity and difference, of negativeness—in short, of nothingness” (p. 4). Like Said (1979), Mbembe (2001) argues that Africa’s portrayal has been created and perpetuated in a desire for the West to “assert its difference from the rest of the world” (p. 2).

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

It is this (mis)representation that Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2016) maintains is dangerous. As a fiction writer, many of her stories highlight the lives of Nigerians impacted by the legacy of colonialism and post-colonial relations (Doncu, 2018; Simoes da Silva, 2012). Depicting complex situations such as the Nigerian civil war, she has been praised for her nuanced and layered contributions that “continually [forge] the link between Nigeria’s past and present” (Akingbe & Adeniyi, 2017, p. 37).

Adichie (2009) argues that Western media has largely misrepresented Africa. She states that Africa has been portrayed as a “a single story of catastrophe,” as a “place of negatives, of difference, of darkness” (7:20). She contests that this single narrative has been perpetuated through discourse. This ability to choose which narrative is presented, who gets to tell it, and how many stories are told is ultimately an exercise of power. “Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person,” she states, “but to make it the definitive story of that person” (10:12; emphasis added). The consequence of this single narrative is that it robs people of dignity and makes it difficult to recognize our common humanity; rather than highlighting the similarities, it emphasizes differences.

This process of ‘othering,’ both continues and has repercussions today. In doing research on the Congo, Dunn (2003) argues that in order to understand contemporary events, it is necessary to examine how the country has been ‘imagined’ over time. He suggests that within the discourse of colonialism, the country was represented as ‘chaotic,’ ‘primitive’ and ‘uncivilized.’ These problematic terms were in turn used to both ‘legitimize’ Westerners’ violent pacification of the Congo for the ‘betterment’ of its inhabitants, as well as to replace existing systems of knowledge and practice with “Western-scripted notions of sovereignty, modernity, and development” (Dunn, 2003, p. 6). The consequence of this othering has reverberating implications. For instance, the country’s portrayal as a ‘land of chaos’ resulted in the non-involvement of Western governments who refrained from intervention in regional wars and genocides in the 1990s (Dunn, 2003). This symbolic othering positions Africa in a space and time separate

(17)

from the West, “distant from Western centers of ‘civilization’” where the continent is “not only culturally distant but culturally anachronistic” (Fair, 1993, p. 12).

Adichie (2009) argues, however, that these portrayals can be changed through the decentralization of storytellers, by giving a platform to storytellers that have historically been ignored. Indeed, while much of Africa has been portrayed negatively, representation is at a constant ‘play’ or ‘slippage of meaning’ (Hall, 2013). As such, there is always opportunity to create new meanings – to prescribe different interpretations. Orgad (2012) argues that giving victims a platform and voice allows them to advocate and speak for themselves. Researching the banlieues residents in France, she found that during the 2005 riots, the group was largely excluded from mainstream media, despite the fact that many of the rioters were banlieues residents and the riots were occurring within their neighborhoods.

Despite their exclusion, they found visibility on the internet, specifically blogs and user-generated video platforms. These platforms gave the banlieues an opportunity to represent themselves and “contributed to the construction of a multi-faceted other,” offering a more nuanced understanding of the situation and people (Orgad, 2012, p. 104). Within the field of development communications, it raises the question as to whether social media platforms can provide a space for a more nuanced, dignified portrayal of the Global South; whether it can challenge the historically rooted truism that “if the Orient could represent itself, it would; since it cannot, the representation does the job, for the West, and faute de mieux, for the poor Orient” (Said, 1979, p. 21).

Social Media as a Platform

As opposed to traditional methods of communication such as newspapers, television, and books, social media offers users “a low-cost, interactive tool to speak out and to educate, engage, mobilize, and build rapport with large audiences of supporters” (Guo & Saxton, 2018, pp. 5–6). Godin and Doná (2016) argue that amongst young refugees, the accessibility of social media promotes the agency of ‘situated refugee voices’ while simultaneously challenging misconceptions. Similarly, looking at the media’s negative portrayal of welfare benefit claimants within the UK, Feltwell et al. (2017) argue that social media platforms have given activists a space in which to present a ‘counter-discourse.’ Embedded in the work of Foucault, they argue that “power is discursive and does not exist in isolation from other communication and the world around it” (p. 13). When those who are normally spoken for begin to speak for themselves, they create a counter discourse, they perform an act of defiance against those that oppress them (Feltwell et al., 2017).

(18)

Furthermore, social media platforms have transformed the role of the audience. For example, during the Kony 2012 video campaign, a short documentary produced by Invisible Children, Inc., Ugandans took to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to voice their disagreement with the story portrayed in the film (Murphy, 2013). Additionally, the Red Cross recently came under fire for their ‘BuikvoorBuik’ (Belly for a Belly) campaign that placed a heavyset white man sitting back-to-back with a small black child with a bloated belly (“Veel Kritiek Op Fatshaming in Rode Kruis-Campagne,” 2020). The campaign was criticized for body shaming and being distasteful. The online backlash was so severe that the organization was compelled to issue an apology. On Facebook, the role of the audience is no longer exclusively that of the spectator, but now involves producing, viewing and socializing (Enli & Thumin, 2012).

Affordances

Understanding the affordances of an object is a vital way to examine and understand the relationship between technology and users (Bucher & Helmond, 2018). Though commonly abstracted in different ways, Davis and Chouinard (2016) define the concept of affordances as a “range of functions and constraints that an object provides for, and places upon, structurally situated subjects” (p. 241). The idea was originally conceptualized by James Gibson, in the field of ecological psychology (Bucher & Helmond, 2018). In investigating animals' interaction with their environment, Gibson (1986) suggests that the “affordances of the environment are what it offers the animal, what it provides or furnishes, either for good or ill” (p. 127).

Ten years later, the concept was adopted into the field of design by Donald Norman (Bucher & Helmond, 2018). Norman (1990) expanded upon Gibson’s conceptualization and suggested that objects could be designed “to suggest or determine certain forms of use through the notion of ‘perceived affordances’” (p. 9). Instead of looking at how organisms see, Norman was interested in how artifacts could be designed to “encourage or constrain specific actions” (Bucher & Helmond, 2018, p. 6). With this conceptualization, power is put in the hands of designers who have the ability to influence which actions are permitted and which are encouraged. Affordances do not cause behavior directly. Instead, they regulate it and they manage it. Within the field of new media, this concept is particularly useful as it provides a “middle term that both takes into account the ways in which technologies are socially constructed and situated on the one hand, and materially constraining and enabling on the other hand” (Bucher & Helmond, 2018, p. 10).

(19)

Building upon this, Bucher & Helmond (2018) address what they call low-level and high-level affordances. While low-level affordances are “located in the materiality of the medium, in specific features, buttons, screens and platforms,” high-level affordances are “the kinds of dynamics and conditions enabled by technical devices, platforms and media” (Bucher & Helmond, 2018, p. 12). With respect to social media channels, high-level affordances concentrate on communicative results, or the different engagement and networking possibilities that the networks offer their users (Bucher & Helmond, 2018).

Facebook

Launched in 2004, Facebook has become the largest social media platform in the world with a monthly user base of two billion (Rogers, 2019). While there are several other companies that have gained tremendous user bases, “Facebook’s capabilities to leverage network effects are infinitely bigger than any other platform currently up and running in the social media universe” (van Dijck & Poell, 2015, p. 4). Within the NGO sector, Agozzino and Fleck (2016) report that Facebook is the most popular social media platform used by non-profit organizations.

Although Facebook has been touted as a tool to give voice to the voiceless, Professor Tarleton Gillespie claims that platforms are not nearly as impartial as they present themselves. Broadly speaking, platforms are “online services that host and deliver user-created content” (Rogers, 2019, p. 153). Gillespie (2017) argues that it is worthwhile to study the usage of the term ‘platform.’ He argues that its widespread usage by social media companies may be attributed to its other meanings and connotations (Rogers, 2019). For example, a platform could be a raised floor or area where people could stand, or objects could be placed. Within the political sense, it could refer to a stage or an agenda or collection of political party policies. Platforms, therefore imply an “an opportunity to launch one’s ideas, and dress up and present oneself” (Rogers, 2019, p. 153). The term suggests an ‘impartial between-ness’ (Gillespie, 2017).

However, as sites are built to engage users and distribute content virally, Helberger et al. (2018) contest that they are “not simply hosts, but vital actors” (p. 7). Though the name might suggest that “all activity is equally and meritocratically available, visible, public, and potentially viral,” platforms play a significant role in sorting, presenting, and mediating content (Gillespie, 2017, pp. 3–4). Like traditional broadcast media, platforms decide which content can appear, how it is organized, how it is monetized, what may be omitted and why, and what the infrastructure requires and forbids. Gillespie (2010) argues that platforms are “more like traditional media than they care to admit” (p. 359).

(20)

Though the affordances of social media present new opportunities for connection and communication, they are still mediated through platforms where there is the potential for tremendous visibility, not the assurance of it (boyd, 2010). Indeed, the affordances of social media “introduce new dynamics with which participants must contend” (boyd, 2010, p. 9). In looking at how NGOs gain attention on social media, Guo and Saxton (2018) found that the size of an organization’s network (number of followers) plays a significant role in the amount of awareness an organization can generate. This suggests that organizations with already-established notoriety would be more likely to gain visibility while smaller ones have higher barriers to entry. Furthermore, they also found that the number of posts an organization publishes plays a role in visibility. While larger NGOs may have teams dedicated to social media posts, smaller organizations are unlikely to match the frequency of most established organizations, and therefore less likely to be seen.

Several cases, however, suggest that social media can provide a platform to dispossessed populations that has been historically denied by traditional media (Feltwell et al., 2017; Godin & Doná, 2016; Orgad, 2012). Orgad (2012) argues that when individuals are given the opportunity to tell their own stories, “past stereotypes can be fractured and identities begin to be fleshed out and repositioned as active subjects” (p. 88). This thesis therefore asks: ‘to what extent can Facebook be used as a tool to challenge the construction of the ‘other’ within development communications?’

4. Methodology

To understand how the Global South is portrayed on Facebook, this study looks at the communications of four NGOs: two international and two 'grassroots' organizations. Primarily, these groups strive to support children. The selected organizations are: Save the Children International and

ChildFund International based in the United States, Smile Africa in Uganda, and the Dolly Children Foundation in Nigeria. As established and internationally recognized organizations, Save the Children and

ChildFund are positioned to embody the ‘dominant’ discourse. The Facebook activity of all four organizations was observed over the course of one month; this includes monitoring and tracking medium-specific features such as types of posts that are published (i.e. photos, videos, text), as well as how beneficiaries are framed and portrayed.

(21)

Research Object

While the two ‘international’ organizations are based in the United States, the two ‘grassroots’ organizations are in Sub-Saharan Africa. The decision to focus on Sub-Saharan Africa was done due to the immense amount of discourse surrounding the region within the development sector. Often referenced due to high poverty levels, Sub-Saharan Africa has been the focus of both development discourse and international NGO campaigns (Batana, 2013; Zimmer & Das, 2014).

The decision to analyze children’s aid organizations was not initially a deliberate decision. While initially doing research, I found that though many other types of NGOs certainly exist, few utilize images to convey their mission quite to the same extent. Orgad and Seu (2014) argue that within non-profit imagery, women and children constitute “the ‘face’ of distant suffering” (p. 918). Fehrenbach & Rodogno (2015) argue that the trend of using images of children is tied to the cultural notion of a child’s innocence and ‘pre-political status.’ Rather than teens or older children, the most affecting photographs are ones that feature young children who are “unambiguously vulnerable and dependent” (Fehrenbach & Rodogno, 2015, p. 1143). As portrayals of children have overwhelmingly been used to solicit donations, it seemed logical to research how they are framed within development discourse.

During the selection process, it was important that the organizations were active on the platform. While most of the international organizations I observed posted quite frequently (some up to 6-10 times a day), it was rare to find a smaller NGO that was regularly active on Facebook. For the grassroots organizations, this factor played a much more significant role in the selection process as discussed below. Narrowing the list of organizations occurred in two stages. First, for the international organizations, I compiled a list of INGOs that had a recurring presence within development discourse (see Appendix A). This list consists of organizations such as the Red Cross and Oxfam who have built an established international reputation and following.

Second, the selection of the grassroots NGOs was done by a Snowball Sampling method. Outlined by Baltar & Brunet (2012), this technique helps in finding ‘hard to reach’ populations. Snowball sampling occurs when “[o]ne subject gives the researcher the name of another subject, who in turn provides the name of a third, and so on” (Atkinson & Flint, 2001, p. 1). Starting with Facebook’s search function, variations of the following terms were searched: ‘grassroots Africa,’ ‘ngo Africa,’ and ‘non-profit Africa.’ From there, the ‘Pages liked by this Page’ feature on the platform was utilized to find similar organizations. Similarly, these terms were input into search engines, the website would be scanned, and their Facebook page was briefly analyzed to determine suitability (posts in English and frequent posting activity). After

(22)

surveying the profiles of hundreds of organizations across Africa, five emerged as viable options (see Appendix A).

The Organizations

Save the Children International

Originally started in 1919, the aim of Save the Children is to assist children in times of crisis, while also making efforts to alleviate poverty, violence, disease and hunger (Who We Are, 2020). While originally created by Eglantyne Jebb to assist children in Austria and Germany following the first World War, by the 1930s, Save the Children expanded its mission to Ethiopia (100 Years For Children, 2020). Today the organization is made up of Save the Children International and 29 national members. Together, they work in 117 countries worldwide (Who We Are, 2020). As a result, they have a sizeable 1.8 million followers on Facebook. This history, international recognition, and aforementioned controversy in 2013 (see Illustration 5) is the justification for their inclusion within the study (Endong, 2020; Fehrenbach & Rodogno, 2015; Gharib, 2015; Moore, 1998).

ChildFund International

Previously known as the Christian Children’s Fund, ChildFund was launched in 1938 by Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke (Our History, 2019). Similar to Save the Children, ChildFund’s focus is on children’s aid and advocacy and they are currently active within 24 countries. This organization provides a somewhat different perspective, however, as its primary activity is in ‘child sponsorship’ (a model Save the Children also employs to a lesser extent). The idea is premised upon a concept where a donor can ‘choose a child’ from a database in which to sponsor (Child Sponsorship, 2019). While debates surrounding the impacts of this approach are mixed within the sector (Fieldston, 2014; Swiger, 2002; Wydick et al., 2020), one of the heaviest criticisms is that it is de-humanizing and disrespectful to the recipients (Mittelman & Neilson, 2011; Noh, 2019). With a notable 210,000 followers, the organization provides an alternative ‘mid-size’ INGO perspective.

Smile Africa Children's Home and School

Located in Uganda, Smile Africa Children's Home and School (henceforth ‘Smile Africa’) is a ‘Home for Orphans & the Needy’ (Home, 2020). Created in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis, the organization aims

(23)

to provide education and a home environment for homeless children within the Masaka region. Like both ChildFund, and to a lesser extent, Save the Children, Smile Africa also utilizes a child sponsorship model. With over 16,000 followers on Facebook, the organization has both a larger social media following and is much more active in comparison to most other observed grassroots organizations.

Dolly Children Foundation

Founded by Adedolapo Osuntuyi, Dolly Children Foundation’s (hereafter ‘Dolly Children’) mission is to improve access to education for children within Lagos, Nigeria. They do this by pursuing projects such as after school tutoring, training programs for teachers, providing back-to-school supplies, and investing in school infrastructure (Impacts, 2017). Like all the above-mentioned organizations, Dolly Children also asks donors to support children through sponsorship. To date, the organization states that they have helped over 5,000 children throughout the region. The organization was selected due to both its activity and its modest-sized following (500) which provides a ‘small-scale’ perspective.

Research approach

The posts were first monitored to determine how the organizations utilize the platform. This involved observing factors such as posting frequency, types of posts, use of hyperlinks, and prevalence of children. A qualitative examination was then performed using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach. While the origins of this approach lie most firmly within the fields of linguistics and social psychology, it has widely been adopted by the field of media and communications (Tonkiss, 2004). Going beyond the rhetorical or technical analysis of language, CDA is concerned with the social and political context of discourse – it studies the way “discourse structures enact, confirm, legitimate, reproduce, or challenge relations of power and dominance in society” (Van Dijk, 2015, p. 353). CDA lays the groundwork to critically analyze how development and communications discourse is both historically and socially situated and constructed.

Time Period & Limitations

To get a snapshot of the organizations’ activities, the study observed the posts over the course of one month, from February 10 – March 10, 2020. This research was initially intended to monitor the month of March 2020. However, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the classification of COVID-19 as a pandemic (2020). Understandably, this caused a shift in the types of information shared and posted across all observed profiles. Unfortunately, these posts are not indicative

(24)

of these organizations’ usual activity. The date range was consequently amended. As it includes the day before the WHO’s announcement, it provides the most recent regular posting activity while minimizing the number of posts regarding the pandemic. In total, only five posts were found to be relating to the virus (all five posts were published by Save the Children). These posts were all informative in nature (how to properly wash hands, health tips, etc.) and were consequently excluded from the results.

Though I do not believe that amending the date significantly impacted the findings, it resulted in observing older data. This is not inherently bad, however, research has indicated that data collection on the platform should be collected both as quickly and as frequently as possible (Villegas, 2016). As there is no public record, it is possible that likes and comments were retracted, and posts and accounts were deleted (Rieder et al., 2015). Additionally, while a month provided a sizeable quantity of valuable material to analyze, the project would have benefitted from a larger data set (for example, several months of data). Time constraints on the project, however, limited its scope.

Furthermore, while the study does factor in ‘natively digital’ elements such as hyperlinks and how organizations and users utilized the platform’s comments section, engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares) were consequently omitted from the research. The decision was twofold. First, without imploring further research, it is difficult to extrapolate the significance of the results. For instance, throughout the month, despite having roughly 1.6 million fewer followers, ChildFund’s posts often had more engagement – overall likes and comments – than Save the Children (see Appendix G). However, the organization’s engagement is also far more intermittent, with the number of ‘likes’ their posts ranging from 50 to 2,300.

As an observer, it is not possible to determine whether a post’s success is due to organic engagement from followers or whether the organization paid to ‘boost’ the post to be visible to a broader audience. This issue is further complicated when considering the advertising options available. Figure 1 shows all of the options available to the page manager. If ‘Engagement’ is chosen, for example, the post will be shown to “people more likely to engage with your post” (Help, 2020). Second, as the Critical Discourse Analysis approach is concerned with the socio-political context of discourse, the method does not allow for the further exploration of these dynamics. While the research may have considered how organizations gain visibility on the platform through the use of paid advertising, it consequently falls outside the scope of this project.

(25)

Figure 1: Facebook Screenshot

5. Results

Data was subsequently collected over the course of two days: 3 and 4 May 2020. The Facebook pages of each organization were manually observed, and data points were collected and compared using Excel. Posts were individually assigned with unique IDs for reference (see Appendix G). In Figure 2, the results show both the total number of posts found and the ‘types’ of posts observed.

Types of posts Individual Photo Set of Photos Photo &

Video Video Share Fundraiser Text

Total no. of posts Save the Children 15 3 0 16 2 5 11 52 ChildFund 19 8 1 21 0 0 1 50 Smile Africa 1 9 0 5 0 0 0 15 Dolly Children 8 6 0 1 0 0 0 15

(26)

Posting Frequency

In terms of posting frequency, there are notable trends between the two groups. Although differing in audience size, both INGOs had comparable posting frequency; Save the Children was the most active with 52 posts and ChildFund with 50. Similarly, the two ‘grassroots’ organizations each posted a total of 15 times over the 30-day period. Figure 2 highlights the ‘types’ of posts that were published on each respective organization’s timeline.

Although the posts in Figure 2 are separated into these seven categories, they are not mutually exclusive. For example, posts within the ‘Text’ category were classified as such because the organization themselves did not upload any photos or videos in the post. However, all the posts in this category include hyperlinks with attached thumbnails (except one post from Save the Children where the thumbnail is missing). Though these posts are here classified as ‘Text,’ images are still present (see Illustration 6). As the organization has the option to remove the thumbnail image or replace it with their own, links that include thumbnails are considered an extension of the organization’s visual communications and therefore included within the subsequent data sets. Similarly, in all cases, both ‘Share’ and ‘Fundraiser’ posts contained either photos or videos. Therefore, Figure 2 is not indicative of whether photos or video are present. Instead, it gives insight into the ‘types’ of posts that the organizations distribute.

(27)

Illustration 6: ‘Text’ post with hyperlink thumbnail posted by Save the Children (A.35)

Content

Irrespective of organization size, the data shows that all organizations heavily rely on both photos and videos in their communications. Out of all 132 posts observed, only one contained neither a photo nor video (the aforementioned missing thumbnail). While all rely on photos and videos, the occurrence of children varies greatly. For example, Figure 3 illustrates that amongst the two INGOs, children were present in a significant percentage of posts. To contrast, the two smaller organizations relied less heavily on children. Instead, these organizations prominently displayed photos of infrastructure construction and inspirational quotes.

(28)

Figure 3: Total posts with children prominently displayed

Platform Specificity

The organizations use the platforms in slightly different ways. Although the ‘donate’ function within the platform initially drew interest from the sector (Venzin, 2020), the results show that only one organization, Save the Children, utilized this feature. Over the course of 30 days, the organization held two fundraisers of their own (and shared one other from a user who in lieu of birthday gifts asked peers to donate to the organization). While the fundraising feature was not heavily utilized, a large percentage of the posts did attempt to make direct appeals to donors (see Figure 4). It could be argued that the very act of posting on the platform is an implicit ‘ask.’ For instance, within the sector, brand image and reputation play a vital role in both attracting new donors and retaining existing ones (do Paço et al., 2014). Therefore, regular updates and engagement with users could be interpreted as an implicit attempt to attract donors. However, ‘Direct Appeal Post’ here refers to posts where the user is explicitly asked to ‘take action’ of some kind, most often in the form of a financial donation (though on a few occasions, users were asked to sign petitions).

(29)

Figure 4: Total posts with ‘Direct Appeals’

While the data indicates that Smile Africa made appeals to donors most frequently, it should be noted that this is due to a generic message which was attached to the end of each post (see Appendix B). This message contained information on the different funding options (cost of funding a child for a month, cost of classroom, etc.) and a general message asking users to send a message if they want more information. As opposed to Smile Africa’s generic, informative appeal, both Save the Children’s and ChildFund’s approaches were more individualized and emotionally weighted. This language will be explored more extensively in the next chapter. To contrast, Dolly Children did not make any direct appeals to their audience.

Instead of using the Fundraising feature on the platform, three of the four organizations heavily utilized hyperlinks within their posts (see Figure 5). Nearly all the aforementioned ‘Direct Appeal’ posts contained a hyperlink. Of these, aside from two links from Save the Children and one from ChildFund, all the hyperlinks redirected to the organization’s own respective website. While this was nearly always the case for Save the Children’s appeals, ChildFund also frequently took advantage of the platform’s ‘Comment’ affordance. In cases where a hyperlink was not attached, ChildFund asked users to put a comment indicating that they were interested in the topic at hand, with a promise that a team member would follow up in a personal message. ChildFund was the only organization that utilized comments in such a manner to generate discussion and appeal to donors.

(30)

Figure 5: Total number of hyperlinks included in posts

6. Analysis

Höijer (2004) argues that children are the most ‘ideal victim’ to elicit compassion from donors. As a result, NGOs have often relied on children to convey innocence and incite pity (Orgad & Seu, 2014). Across all the organizations, children played a starring role in many of the posts – an unsurprising find from four organizations that directly cater to the well-being of children. Beyond the total percentage of posts with children, the organizations also differed in how children were framed, both visually and textually. One important thing to note is that although ChildFund is active throughout the world, during the month of February, a small American team went to Uganda and documented the journey on the platform. As one of the smaller grassroots organizations, Smile Africa, is also situated in Uganda, this gave the study a unique opportunity to directly compare how the organizations’ portrayals differ.

Theatre of Tragedy: Creating the ‘Other’

In her research on NGO communications, Orgad (2013) argues that the Global South has overwhelmingly been presented as a “theatre of tragedy and disaster” (p. 8). Aligning with the words of Edward Said (1979), this claim of ‘theatre’ suggests that what is shown is not absolute truth. Within the NGO sector, images have been historically utilized to perpetuate the discourse that the Global South is a landscape of poverty, despair, and misery (Chouliaraki, 2010; Orgad, 2013). Endong (2020) argues that negative portrayals are “strategic narrative tools to say volumes, attract attention and captivate international aid donors” (p. 68). Within Western humanitarian organizations, children have been positioned as the ‘victim most worthy’ of emotional empathy.

(31)

A number of scholars have suggested that compared to traditional media, social media may provide an alternative platform for the disenfranchised to ‘speak for themselves’ and challenge damaging preconceptions (Godin & Doná, 2016; Guo & Saxton, 2018; Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012; Orgad, 2012). Indeed, as a low-cost, interactive tool, the “advent of social media has opened up even greater possibilities for interpersonal and organizational Communication” (Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012, p. 338). As a result, NGOs are increasingly utilizing platforms to mobilize volunteers, communicate with stakeholders, and diffuse information (Godin & Doná, 2016; Guo & Saxton, 2018). The following section outlines the themes, trends, and tropes observed on the two INGO’s Facebook accounts.

The Visual Representation of Children: Danger of a Single Image

Illustration 7: Save the Children (A.31)

Adichie (2016) argues that there is an inherent ‘danger’ in having too few stories or representations. Extending this notion, this section looks at how many photos an organization posts – comparing whether a single image is uploaded or whether it is a set of photos. In terms of visual representation, the two INGOs have rather different approaches. First, although having more posts overall, Save the Children has both less variety of photos (images are reused) and their posts are more likely to contain only one image. Instead of presenting a multifaceted portrayal of their beneficiaries, this single image limits the opportunity for the viewer to understand the broader context. For example, Illustration 7 shows a post made on 26 February which displays a closeup of a young child looking into the camera with an uneasy expression and dirt marking their face. This particular image, which was used three times, gives little context into the child’s life.

(32)

Illustration 8: ChildFund (B.13)

Taking a somewhat different approach, ChildFund does often show a more nuanced portrayal. While one photo may convey a singular message, by including multiple photos, ChildFund is able to provide a somewhat more comprehensive look at the lived realities of their subjects. For example, on 12 February, the organization made a post asking donors to sponsor a young girl (see Illustration 8). Isolated on its own, the first photo shows only the girl looking down in the camera with a rather discontent expression and a thatched-roof structure in the background. Taken in this context, the viewer could presume that perhaps she is unhappy and alone.

The post, however, also contains four other photos that give more context into the girl’s life. The second photo shows that the girl is not alone (see Illustration 9). Instead, she appears to live in a community with other children, with her house being one of several. The additional photos further add context as the girl is shown holding hands with her mother and later sharing a meal with (presumably) family. This is not to suggest that more photos are inevitably better. However, with the additional photos, ChildFund does often provide more context into the childrens’ lives when compared to Save the Children.

(33)

Illustration 9: ChildFund additional photos (B.13)

Relationship Between Text and Image

Though visuals may add nuance and context, it is also important to look at the relationship between photo and text. In deconstructing commercial images, Roland Barthes (1987) argues that “the structure of the photograph is not an isolated structure; it is in communication with at least one other structure, namely the text - title, caption or article – accompanying every press photograph” (p. 16). He gives an example of how the same photograph can have wholly different meanings when employed within newspapers of opposing ideologies. While images may have once been used to illustrate the text (to clarify), he argues that text now “constitutes a parasitic message designed to connote the image” (p. 22). In this, text comes to “sublimate, patheticize or rationalize the image” (p. 22). Nichols (2017) argues that “images do not present concepts,” instead, they ‘embody them’ (p. 73). For instance, a photo alone cannot explicitly depict ‘poverty.’ An observer may view an image and interpret it as demonstrating poverty, but the image itself does not present the concept. However, accompanying text can ‘name,’ associate, or link a concept to an image; it can “guide the viewer to the ‘correct’ interpretation of the images” (B. Nichols, 2017, p. 73).

(34)

While these organizations utilize captions differently, I argue they both convey a sense of what Mbembe (2001) calls ‘lack’ or ‘absence’ – a trope that has historically plagued NGO communications. Rather than highlighting what has been accomplished or achieved, both tend to fall back and focus on what is missing, what has been lost or taken from the subject of the image. This prism of ‘lack’ is embellished by what can be described as ‘extreme language.’ Extreme language is loosely used here to describe language referencing death (bombing, freezing to death), sickness (malaria, AIDS), or intense suffering (living in terror, struggling to survive). While extreme language is not present in each post, the overall tone of the posts is often disempowering. Health and safety issues certainly impact individuals worldwide. It is not their reference that is problematic – it is the lens of pity that is of concern.

Health and Safety

Extreme language is best exemplified by Save the Children. Though the organization is active throughout the world, over the course of the month, a large percentage of their posts highlighted their work in a refugee settlement in Lebanon. These posts often display and discuss children in vulnerable situations, for example, they discuss bombing, sub-zero temperatures, and terror. In a post made on February 26, they describe a situation as “It’s unbelievable to think Syrian children face the threat of dying from bombs or dying from the cold” (A.32). Over the course of the month, fourteen posts, or nearly twenty-seven percent of their posts, directly refer to death, with many others eluding to ‘dire’ or ‘life-threatening’ conditions. For example, Illustration 10 shows how these captions are typically paired with comparably distraught imagery that shows children surrounded by rubble and destruction. In these cases, the text often compliments or agrees with the visual – no doubt suggesting the danger the children still inhabit.

Challenging the construction of the non-Western ‘other’: a comparative critical discourse analysis of children’s aid organizations on Facebook