Endalkachew H Chala

Endalkachew H Chala

Media and communication scholar studying digital platforms, journalism, and public communication across multilingual and transnational contexts

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Pages

Posts

Algorithms, appeals, and avenues: mapping meta’s oversight board across continents

2 minute read

Published:

Over the past several months, I have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the Meta Oversight Board’s 128 published decisions to understand not only which cases the Board elects to review, but also the geographic and topical distribution of its work. My interest in this subject was piqued earlier this year when Meta quietly removed fact-checking labels from Facebook and Instagram content, raising critical questions about how appeals to “truth” might endure within the company’s increasingly narrow enforcement framework. Simultaneously, the Oversight Board—heralded as a novel experiment in corporate self-regulation—continues to face scrutiny for its opacity and slow deliberations. Journalists such as Casey Newton have critiqued its glacial pace, while scholars including Douek (2024) and Wong & Floridi (2022) have offered nuanced assessments of its institutional strengths and weaknesses.

Framing Local Publics Reflections Nonprofit News

1 minute read

Published:

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been laying the groundwork for a digital content analysis project focused on nonprofit journalism in the Twin Cities. The aim is to examine how two prominent local outlets—MinnPost and Sahan Journal—frame structurally embedded issues such as public safety, education, and environmental justice, and in doing so, how they construct and define their publics.

The Pronoun Gap: Teaching Care and Clarity in Intercultural Contexts: A Reflection from the Intercultural Classroom

4 minute read

Published:

In my intercultural communication courses, especially those focused on health communication, language regularly becomes the terrain where deep cultural differences surface—not just in content, but in form. One moment that continues to stay with me occurred during a session I taught on how to effectively and respectfully communicate in healthcare settings, particularly when caring for LGBTQ+ elders.

portfolio

publications

Play Station Video Games amongst Ethiopian Children: An Investigation into Popularity of Play Station Video Games amongst Ethiopian Children in Addis Ababa

Published in VDM Verlag, 2009

Earlier research on digital games, globalization, and children’s everyday media use in Addis Ababa, developed from my M.A. thesis and published as a 2009 paperback monograph.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H. (2009). Play Station Video Games amongst Ethiopian Children: An Investigation into Popularity of Play Station Video Games amongst Ethiopian Children in Addis Ababa. VDM Verlag.

Tweeting Democracy: An Ethnographic Content Analysis of Social Media Use in the Differing Politics of Senegal and Ethiopia’s Newspapers

Published in Journal of African Media Studies, 2016

A comparative study of how newspapers in Senegal and Ethiopia used Twitter and Facebook, examining how political context and press freedom shaped early social-media adoption in African newsrooms.

Recommended citation: Lemke, Jeslyn, & Chala, Endalk. (2016). "Tweeting Democracy: An Ethnographic Content Analysis of Social Media Use in the Differing Politics of Senegal and Ethiopia’s Newspapers." Journal of African Media Studies, 8(2), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.1386/jams.8.2.167_1
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Diaspora Media, Local Politics: Journalism and the Politics of Homeland among the Ethiopian Opposition in the United States

Published in University of Oregon, 2018

My Ph.D. dissertation on Ethiopian diaspora media, transnational public spheres, political opposition, and the relationship between exile journalism and homeland politics.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H. (2018). Diaspora Media, Local Politics: Journalism and the Politics of Homeland among the Ethiopian Opposition in the United States. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oregon.
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A Clash of Narratives: National Identity and Violent Conflict in Ethiopia

Published in Global Voices Civic Media Observatory, 2021

A Global Voices Civic Media Observatory report on Ethiopia’s media ecosystem, narrative conflict, diaspora influence, and the civic impact of media during 2020–2021.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H., Esenler, Alexandra, Masouras, Asteris, Popplewell, Georgia, Sigal, Ivan, & Workneh, Téwodros. (2021). A Clash of Narratives: National Identity and Violent Conflict in Ethiopia. Global Voices Civic Media Observatory.
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Toolkit for Trust: Strategies for Better Online Communication

Published in MediaWell, Social Science Research Council, 2025

Editorial contribution to a MediaWell research review synthesizing evidence-based strategies for healthier online communication and trust-building, developed from the ARTT project.

Recommended citation: Tower, Kimberly, & Miller, Kristin M. (2025). "Toolkit for Trust: Strategies for Better Online Communication." MediaWell, Social Science Research Council. Prior review edited by Connie Moon Sehat, Molly Laas, and Endalkachew Chala.
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Internet shutdowns in Ethiopia: Discourses of digital sovereignty and information suppression amid political instability

Published in New Media & Society, 2025

A mixed-methods study of Ethiopia’s internet shutdowns from 2005–2024, examining how digital sovereignty, public-safety narratives, platform failures, and political control intersect in the use of network disruptions.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H., & Workneh, Téwodros W. (2025). "Internet shutdowns in Ethiopia: Discourses of digital sovereignty and information suppression amid political instability." New Media & Society, 28(9), 4942–4962. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251378981
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From Multidimensional Safety to Risk Ecologies: A Four-Coordinate Analysis of Journalist Exposure in Ethiopia, 1992–2024

Published in Journalism Practice, 2026

A 32-year mixed-methods study of journalist exposure in Ethiopia that combines longitudinal event data with 17 in-depth interviews and advances a Four-Coordinate framework for understanding how political environment and professional orientation shape risk.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H. (2026). "From Multidimensional Safety to Risk Ecologies: A Four-Coordinate Analysis of Journalist Exposure in Ethiopia, 1992–2024." Journalism Practice, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2026.2637127
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Faith, displacement, and intergenerational relationships: a communication accommodation theory approach to the Ethiopian Orthodox diaspora

Published in Language and Intercultural Communication, 2026

A qualitative study applying Communication Accommodation Theory to intergenerational relationships in the Ethiopian Orthodox diaspora, with attention to faith, displacement, identity, and culturally specific communicative norms.

Recommended citation: Workneh, Téwodros W., Lin, Mei-Chen, & Chala, Endalkachew. (2026). "Faith, displacement, and intergenerational relationships: a communication accommodation theory approach to the Ethiopian Orthodox diaspora." Language and Intercultural Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2026.2690268
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Crowdsourcing Rebellion: Digital Fundraising for Ethiopian Rebel Groups

Published in Civil Wars, 2026

A comparative study of diaspora crowdfunding and digital insurgent financing in Ethiopia, using original GoFundMe and social-media data to identify distributed, concentrated, and balanced rebel fundraising networks.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H., Ayalew, Seife, & Lyons, Terrence. (2026). "Crowdsourcing Rebellion: Digital Fundraising for Ethiopian Rebel Groups." Civil Wars. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698249.2026.2719413
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From Detection to Counterspeech: Auditing AI Moderation and Fact-Checking Practices in Ethiopia’s Multilingual Online Sphere

Published in Media and Communication, 2026

A mixed-method audit of AI hate-speech detection in Amharic and Afan Oromo, combining classifier evaluation, platform-document analysis, and interviews with Ethiopian fact-checkers and volunteer counter-speakers.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H. (2026). "From Detection to Counterspeech: Auditing AI Moderation and Fact-Checking Practices in Ethiopia’s Multilingual Online Sphere." Media and Communication, 14. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.12653
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Platform Oversight in Practice: How Language Shapes Procedure, Not Outcome in Meta’s Oversight Board

Published in Journal of Online Trust and Safety, 2026

A case-level analysis of 147 Meta Oversight Board decisions (2020–2025) showing that language does not significantly change adjudicative outcomes but does shape the procedural pathways through which cases are reviewed.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H. (2026). "Platform Oversight in Practice: How Language Shapes Procedure, Not Outcome in Meta’s Oversight Board." Journal of Online Trust and Safety.

Border Narratives: How Overseas Online Discourses are Reshaping Domestic Journalism Practice in Ethiopia

Published in The Routledge Companion to Global Journalism and Media at the Borders, 2027

A forthcoming book chapter on how overseas online discourse and transnational communication reshape journalism practice in Ethiopia.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H., & Workneh, Téwodros W. (forthcoming). "Border Narratives: How Overseas Online Discourses are Reshaping Domestic Journalism Practice in Ethiopia." In Celeste González de Bustamante, Jeannine E. Relly, Ammina Kothari, & Jyotika Ramaprasad (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Global Journalism and Media at the Borders. Routledge.
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Immigrant Airwaves Reimagined: Institutional Pathways of Ethiopian-Origin Radio Journalism in the United States

Published in American Journalism, 1900

A forthcoming study of Ethiopian-origin immigrant radio in the United States as durable institutional journalism embedded in community broadcasting infrastructures.

Recommended citation: Chala, Endalkachew H. (forthcoming). "Immigrant Airwaves Reimagined: Institutional Pathways of Ethiopian-Origin Radio Journalism in the United States." American Journalism.

talks

teaching