Faarseebulaa
| |

Digital Serfdom in Ethiopia: Faarseebulaa, Propaganda, and the Politics of Praise

ByOlii Boran (Sociologist) and Ed Chapman (Digital Forensics Researcher) Posted on

Faarseebulaa refers to Ethiopia’s emerging class of Digital Serfs—individuals who voluntarily serve authoritarian systems through online propaganda. Unlike historical peasants or proletariats who resisted oppression, the Faarseebulaa defend it for personal gain, low self-worth, and limited awareness. They are not rulers, yet they passionately safeguard the system that exploits the majority.

Intellectualism

When Intellectualism Becomes Complicit How Ethiopia’s intellectual legacy must confront its role in cultural erasure and ideological domination.

ByTaliila Liiban Posted on

Excerpt: When intellectualism aligns with power instead of truth, it risks becoming a refined tool of domination. This reflection challenges the legacy of Ethiopian academia and calls for a return to ethical, justice-driven scholarship. Introduction Throughout history, intellectuals have often served as society’s conscience—interpreters of truth, critics of power, and illuminators of the human condition….

Dr Sisay Mengiste
| | |

When Lawmakers Fan Dangerous Flames: The Case of Dr Sisay Mengiste

ByOlii Boran Posted on

Questions for Troubling Rhetoric Where does freedom of speech end, and the incitement of dangerous, ethnically charged propaganda begin? At what point does public discourse shift from a right to speak one’s mind into a reckless abuse of influence—especially when the speaker holds public office in a fragile, multi-ethnic society? These are not abstract questions….

When Falsehoods Wear Fancy Fonts
| | |

When Falsehoods Wear Fancy Fonts: The Absurdity of Manufactured Maps

ByElemoo Qilxuu Posted on

There’s something truly ironic about attempts to rewrite history—how they often stumble on the very tools they try to wield. A case in point: a laughable “13th-century map of Abyssinia” now making the rounds. A single glance at its slick, pixel-perfect typography and digitally crisp outlines is enough to raise eyebrows. We are expected to…

assimilation decree
| | |

How a False Unity of Mythical Ethiopia Was Manufactured Through Annexation and Assimilation

ByOlii Boran Posted on

Introduction Emperor Haile Selassie ascended to the throne on April 2, 1930. Just over a year later, on July 16, 1931, he promulgated the country’s first modern Constitution. In that founding document, the name “Ethiopia” was formally constitutionalized for the first time—replacing the historical name “Abyssinia.” This name change, however, did not gain international recognition…

"Systematic Dispossession of Oromia"
| | |

The Systematic Dispossession of Oromia: Language Status Denied, Lands Mythologized and Engineered, Names Rewritten, and a Mountain Nearly Claimed

ByOlii Boran (Sociologist) and Ed Chapman (Digital Forensics Researcher) Posted on

 An Article by Invitation Introduction In the age of satellites, algorithms, and global awareness, one might assume that cultural denial has no place left to hide. And yet, Ethiopia—a multinational entity whose sociopolitical structure still bears the hallmarks of an unreconciled empire—continues to find creative ways to deny the Oromo people what is clearly, obviously,…