[ooni-talk] Updates on Tanzania election blocks

[Maria Xynou]

Hello,

Starting from yesterday (27th October 2020) -- which was the eve of
Tanzania's general 2020 election -- OONI measurements continue to show
the ongoing blocking of social media and a few circumvention tools in
Tanzania.

# Blocking of apps in Tanzania

More specifically, OONI measurements show the ongoing blocking of:

* WhatsApp:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ&test_name=whatsapp&only=anomalies

* Facebook Messenger:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ&test_name=facebook_messenger&only=anomalies

* Telegram:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ&test_name=telegram&only=anomalies

* Tor:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ&test_name=tor&only=anomalies

# Blocking of websites in Tanzania

We also observe the blocking of many social media websites in Tanzania,
such as:

* twitter.com:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ&test_name=web_connectivity&domain=twitter.com

* instagram.com:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ&test_name=web_connectivity&domain=www.instagram.com

* youtube.com:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ&test_name=web_connectivity&domain=www.youtube.com

* whatsapp.com:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ&test_name=web_connectivity&domain=www.whatsapp.com

You can find more potentially blocked websites in Tanzania (including a
few circumvention tool sites) here:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ&test_name=web_connectivity&only=anomalies

# What you can do

If you're in Tanzania (or know others who are) and you are interested in
contributing more measurements, you can do so via the following steps:

1. Install the OONI Probe mobile app: https://ooni.org/install/mobile

2. Tap "Run" (to run all tests => including the testing of social media
apps and circumvention tools)

In addition, I would strongly recommend the following:

1. Open the "Social media" button in this page (when accessed from a
mobile browser): https://ooni.org/get-involved/run

2. Open that button with your OONI Probe mobile app (not with a web
browser).

3. Tap "Run" (to test 39 internationally relevant/popular social media
websites)

Similarly:

1. Open the "VPNs" button in this page (when accessed from a mobile
browser): https://ooni.org/get-involved/run

2. Open that button with your OONI Probe mobile app (not with a web
browser).

3. Tap "Run" (to test 21 circumvention tool websites)

In all cases, please have your VPN turned off when running OONI Probe
tests (to help ensure more accurate test results).

# Open data

As soon as you run OONI Probe (unless if you opt out), all test results
are automatically openly published here in near real-time:
https://explorer.ooni.org/search?until=2020-10-29&since=2020-09-29&probe_cc=TZ

Through these measurements, we can all monitor ongoing censorship events
in Tanzania in real-time (as soon as local users run tests)!

Warm thanks to all OONI Probe users in Tanzania for contributing
measurements!!

Please reach out if you have any questions, or if there's any way I can
support you.

In solidarity,

Maria.

-- 
Maria Xynou
Research & Partnerships Director
Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)
https://ooni.org/
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