Hello,
In collaboration with the Digital Society of Zimbabwe, we co-published a research report examining the blocking of social media & the 2 internet blackouts in Zimbabwe over the last week.
Our joint report is available via the following links:
https://ooni.io/post/zimbabwe-protests-social-media-blocking-2019/
http://www.dszim.org/2019/01/23/zimbabwe-protests-social-media-blocking-and-...
We share OONI data that shows the blocking of WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
We are - probably for the first time - able to, indirectly, observe the presence of 2 internet blackouts as well via the lack of OONI measurements across networks during specific time-frames. This is further corroborated by IODA data (also shared in this report), as well as by relevant reporting by locals, community members, and the media.
OONI data also shows that the blocking of social media was lifted on 21st January 2019, when the High Court ruled that internet shutdowns are illegal and ordered the government to restore connectivity.
If you're interested in expanding upon this study, you can do so by:
* Running OONI Probe: https://ooni.io/install/
* Analyzing OONI data (collected from Zimbabwe or elsewhere): https://ooni.io/data/
We thank all OONI Probe users in Zimbabwe who made this study possible!
Best,
Maria.