The Organizational-Level Communication of African LGBT Refugee Ngos on Social Media

Abstract

Due to the extraordinary odds of successful refugee status and because lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) asylum seekers are often completely isolated in their search for refugee status, there is a heightened need for Non Government Organization (NGO) support networks for these individuals. LGBT asylum seekers are often ostracized by other asylum seekers from their shared homeland and can look online for support networks rather than in person. These distinctions may prove to be much more evident through social media, which have allowed marginalized groups to determine their own representation to a degree not found throughout media history.This research will examine the rate at which two LGBT organizations, both focused on Africa but from two different geographic regions, attempt to communicate on three prominent social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.