Social Media Misuse and Digital Rights Violations

By Timothy Mwanje – Director at High Intelligence  | Kampala, Uganda Uganda’s political campaign periods have increasingly become hotspots for online misinformation, harassment , and human rights and privacy violations , further amplified by the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) tools . While social media empowers citizens to share information rapidly, it has also fuelled a troubling trend of publicly exposing and accusing individuals without authorised verification or due process. This misuse of digital platforms has led to reputational harm, wrongful accusations, public intimidation, and widespread ethical concerns. The images widely circulated on social media platforms such as X/twitter , TikTok, and Facebook illustrate how easily a person’s photo or video can be taken out of context and used to create narratives that may provoke physical violence or mob justice, bypassing lawful processes . On 7th December 2025, a viral incident of an individual named Kankiriho Coleb ...