Tribalism, buzz, rumors: the platform mechanics straining peace in Cameroon 🇨🇲🕊

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Every September 21, the International Day of Peace asks the world to think about how people live together. In 2026, the United Nations has picked the theme « Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day. » That theme lands squarely on social media, now major infrastructure for expression, debate and, at times, confrontation. In Cameroon, several behaviors seen on digital platforms raise a pointed question: how is technology shaping the way people coexist? Algorithmic tribalism, the chase for buzz, viral defamation and information poisoning are among the phenomena worth unpacking through the tools that make them possible.

Tribalism settles into the algorithms 📱

Online tribalism appears to be one of the most visible phenomena in Cameroon’s digital space. Pages and communities form around identity-based and political divides, fueled by a constant flow of content between accounts. The technical engine behind this is the recommendation algorithm. Built to maximize the time people spend on a platform, it picks what to show based on clicks, comments and shares, without distinguishing a constructive debate from a fight. A conflict-heavy post that generates lots of interaction gets more visibility, even when those exchanges feed division. Fake profiles and relay accounts are said to amplify the mechanism by spreading unverifiable information and exploiting gaps in platform moderation.

Madame Angela responds with the vigilance she passes on to her children:

« I always tell my children not to let themselves be guided by the emotions that some activists look for on social media. They have to understand that there is real life and there is life on the internet. »

Buzz, the tech fuel of virality 🎙️

The race for visibility also pushes some content creators to weaponize the tools themselves: TikTok lives, edited clips, short formats tuned for the algorithm. The feud that pitted influencers Claudio Njalla and Bop Dylan against each other in June shows how conflict-driven content, once captured and redistributed through platforms’ built-in sharing features, can reach a national audience very quickly, far beyond what anyone originally intended.

Virginie, who followed the story, sums up what happened: « It’s two former friends who decided to split up. The confirmation was seeing Claudio smash his former partner’s car in a video going around on social media. People fanned the flames. But I say, this kind of behavior is not good for the young people who follow them and take them as role models. »

Defamation and disinformation: technology as accelerant 🌐

Encrypted messaging tools and closed groups can make it harder to trace false posts targeting celebrities. A rumor can spread widely before anyone verifies it, apparently because the platforms most used in Cameroon lack built-in fact-checking tools.

« Defamation is often committed without the victim ever exercising a right of reply. And they’re often lynched by a public that knows very little about what happened, » says Lucas.

For TechGriot, the point is not to single out people or pages, but to question the technical architecture behind these behaviors: how do we make digital tools a way to talk to each other rather than an amplifier of division?

So what do you think: should digital platforms be regulated more tightly to protect social peace in Cameroon, or does responsibility lie first and foremost with users? Tell us in the comments.