Leveraging social media intelligence (SOCMINT) in the African intelligence context

Abstract

The development of social media has transformed human communication and altered the security landscape. Intelligence organisations must recognise this change an incorporate social media in collection and analysis. Social media's inexpensiveness, ability to work across borders, and quick transmission of information make it an excellent tool for criminals and extremist organisations. On the other hand, social media can provide information that is important for safeguarding national security. Indeed, the explosion of the social media has created a huge pool of information that can be harvested as a discrete category of intelligence, social media intelligence (SOCMINT). While many intelligence organisations in the West exploit SOCMINT effectively, this is not true in Africa. Given the significant and rapidly increasing use of social media on the continent, it is imperative that intelligence organisations in Africa reassess their policies and structures to incorporate SOCMINT.