Crowd-Sourcing Transparency : ICTs , Social Media , and Government Transparency Initiatives

Abstract

Many nations have embraced information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a means to increase government transparency and to reduce corruption. The latter goal has received a considerable amount of emphasis in newer applications of ICTs by certain governments. The use of social media is a central part of some of these more recent transparency and anti-corruption initiatives. This paper examines ways in which governments build social media into transparency and anti-corruption ICTs - particularly e-government functions - linking specific media with example initiatives. In addition, the paper discusses ways in citizens have used the same social media to monitor government activities.