Digital Resistance: How Social Media Became Our Only Weapon

 

"Digital Resistance: How Social Media Became Our Only Weapon"
(Published: April 2020) by Komlan Eyram Mensah

When the streets are too dangerous and the media is state-controlled, there remains one last battlefield: the internet.

As a Togolese activist, I, Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou

, have turned to digital platforms not just to survive — but to resist. Twitter threads, Facebook posts,

WhatsApp groups — these have become our virtual barricades, our places of protest.

Why digital resistance? Because it’s borderless, fast, and uncontrollable

. A single video of police brutality can expose the regime to the world. A hashtag can mobilize thousands.

A well-timed post can destroy a government lie.

But we must be honest: it is also dangerous. Regime sympathizers monitor our posts.

Algorithms are manipulated. VPNs are essential. Still, we persist — because truth travels faster than fear.

Through my own platforms, I’ve written about repression, corruption, and the illusion of reforms.

I’ve received messages of support from across Africa and threats from regime loyalists.

I’ve seen my posts removed, and I’ve seen them go viral.

The goal is not attention — it is awareness. It is global pressure. It is solidarity with those who cannot speak.

Every post is a small act of defiance. And collectively, they are building a movement.

Togo may block our streets. But it cannot block our minds. The resistance lives online — and it is growing.

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