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SI: Forced Migrants and Digital Connectivity

Introduction

Each year, millions of people forcibly leave their homes due

to disasters, climate change, persecution, or armed conflict.

In 2015, the massive influx of refugees from crisis-ridden

countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq into European

territory revealed fundamental political controversies among

the European Union (EU) Member States and led to the col-

lapse of the European border system. Soon the alleged

“European migration crises” topped European and interna-

tional newspapers. In this somewhat heated atmosphere,

German chancellor Angela Merkel ordered a temporary

open-door asylum policy by famously noting “Wir schaffen

das” (Merkel, 2015, p. 4). Her decision to suspend EU rules

on registering asylum seekers in the first EU state they

entered aimed at the growing number of Syrians fleeing the

conflict in their country. In reality, though, significant num-

bers of people from other countries took the opportunity to

enter, too. In this situation, the city of Berlin, the capital of

the German “refugees welcome” policy, soon became a hot

spot for the European controversies over the humanitarian

crisis. In Berlin, all arriving asylum seekers had to register

with one central reception facility, the Regional Office for

Health and Social Affairs (LAGeSo). As one of the authors

witnessed on a daily basis, exhausted and partly traumatized

by war, expulsion, and months of escape, hundreds of refu-

gees, both adults and children, queued every day for being

registered. It soon became evident that the rush of refugees

from Syria, the Balkan regions, Afghanistan, and Iraq over-

whelmed the LAGeSo hopelessly. Being capable of issuing

waiting numbers for about 300–400 people and processing

around 100 applications a day, on just 1 day 1,900 refugees

764428SMSXXX10.1177/2056305118764428Social Media + SocietyBorkert et al.

research-article20182018

1Technical University Berlin, Germany

2University of Washington, USA

3Newcastle University, UK

4Åbo Akademi University, Finland

5Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Corresponding Author:

Maren Borkert, Technical University Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, H76,

10623 Berlin, Germany.

Email: [email protected]

The Best, the Worst, and the Hardest

to Find: How People, Mobiles, and Social

Media Connect Migrants In(to) Europe

Maren Borkert1, Karen E. Fisher2,3,4 and Eiad Yafi5

Abstract

For displaced people, migrating into Europe has highly complex information needs about the journey and destination. Each

new need presents problems of where to seek information, how to trust or distrust information, and financial and other

costs. The outcomes of receiving poor or false information can cause bodily harm or death, loss of family, or financial ruin.

We aim to make two major contributions: First, provide rich insights into digital literacy, information needs, and strategies

among Syrian and Iraqi refugees who entered Europe in 2015, a topic rarely dealt with in the literature. Second, we seek

to change the dominant perspective on migrants and refugees as passive victims of international events and policies by

showing their capacities and skills to navigate the complex landscape of information and border regimes en route to Europe.

Building on research at Za’atari refugee camp (Jordan), we surveyed 83 Arab refugees in two centers in Berlin. Analyses

address refugees’ temporal information worlds, focusing on the importance and difficulty in finding specific information, how

migrants identify mis- and disinformation, and the roles of information and technology mediaries. Findings illustrate the digital

capacities refugees employ during and after their journey to Europe; they show social support via social media and highlight

the need for a radical shift in thinking about and researching migration in the digital age.

Keywords

refugees, displaced people, Syria, media use, information texture, border landscape, social connection, ICTs, digital literacy,

misinformation, disinformation

2 Social Media + Society

could line up to register at the LAGeSo. In the midst of the

German “refugee crisis,” they made Berlin a sad synonym

for official failure. Without the numerous, mostly female,

volunteers and the countless helpers in secular and ecclesias-

tical organizations, who largely worked until exhaustion, the

humanitarian and administrative crisis would have been

much more intense (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge

[BAMF], 2016; Karakayali & Kleist, 2016). This clumsy

handling of the influx of hundred thousands of refugees, fol-

lowed by the New Year’s Eve sexual assaults attributed to

asylum seekers inter alia in Cologne and a string of Islam-

inspired terror attacks, changed the mood in the country

(Stinauer, 2017). Losing rapidly support, chancellor Merkel

took a tougher approach on asylum seekers in Germany (re-)

installing measures to reduce their numbers, along with the

help of international partners such as Turkey. The public

backlash made anti-immigrant sentiments and rhetoric come

to the fore, facilitating among others the fast rise of German

right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD),

largely unknown before.

In attempt to balance the public discussion inspired by

fears of uncontrolled immigration and subsequent financial

burdens with scientific evidence, we conducted research

about those who arrived with a view on their abilities and

agency. Trying to add a new angle of view, we focused on

digital literacy and complex information needs migrants and

particular refugees face during their journey and at their des-

tination in Europe. In the remainder of this article, we intro-

duce the context of the research in Berlin; discuss social

media, concept of digital literacy, and relevant research on

refugees; and share our findings with regard to the survey

methodology.

Asylum Seekers in the City of Berlin

In 2015, Germany received an unprecedented individual first

asylum applications with 476,649 applications submitted to

the BAMF, the German Federal Office for Migration and

Refugees; 273,815 (or 135%) more than in the previous year

(BAMF, 2017). From Syria, 162,510 asylum seekers com-

prised 34% of all applications. Among the top 10 countries of

origin, 4 are from the Balkan regions: Albania, Kosovo,

Serbia, and Macedonia, evidencing that the open-door asylum

policy toward Syrian refugees attracted nationals from other

countries as well. However, the actual number of asylum seek-

ers entering Germany was significantly higher, since the for-

mal application for asylum is processed with a time delay, and

some who submitted and distributed (in)to Germany moved to

other EU countries. In the EASY (“Erstverteilung von

Asylbegehrenden”) system, for instance, around 1.1 million

accesses of asylum seekers were registered nationwide

(BAMF, 2016). In Berlin, 27,247 asylum seekers, 3.8%, were

settled in 2017 (BAMF, 2017) with notable impact on the city.

As the Statistical Office of Berlin-Brandenburg states, the

overall growth of Berlin in terms of population was driven by

the influx of foreigners—the first such instance in years.

Indeed, of Berlin’s 3.67 million registered population in 2016,

every third Berliner came from abroad or was German with

“migration background.” In 2015/2016, Syrians (28,600)

became the third largest foreign group in Berlin, after Polish

(55,800) and Turkish people (97,700; Statistical Office of

Berlin-Brandenburg, 2017).

Closer examination shows that the majority of asylum

applications (65.7%) in 2016 were by men—higher in all

age groups up to “under 65 years.” Only in the “65-year-old

and older” category is the proportion of female applicants

greater. Furthermore, 36.2% (261,386) of asylum seekers

are under 18 years old, and almost three-quarters (73.8%),

namely, 532,799 persons, are under age 30 years (BAMF,

2017). Thus, the overwhelming majority of asylum seekers

in 2015–2016 are male and under 30 years of age—a trend

reflected in our study.

The arrival of more than a million refugees and migrants

clearly left its marks on German politics and society. All lev-

els of administration—from local communities to regional

and national authorities—faced unprecedented challenges,

while the question of social equity and burden sharing rose to

the fore. The political difficulties to mitigate the “European

refugee crisis,” however, should not excuse forgetting the

challenges and hardships for those who came to Europe.

Besides the daunting challenges and emotional trauma of

uncertainty and loss which displaced persons, either inter-

nally (IDPs) or internationally, face during the flight, on

arrival new difficulties await. In contrast to the safe haven

and imagery that displaced persons seek, they are confronted

with cramped living quarters, resource scarcity, and the ani-

mosity of and violence by home and host-country citizens.

This holds particularly true for children and women who are

among the most disadvantaged (Marfleet, 2006). Whether

within or across national boundaries, the displaced persons

are forced to choose between bad and worse.

While migration and displacement are worldwide increas-

ing, the use of information and communication technologies

(ICTs) has spread and intensified. Driven by the rapid increase

in cheap mobiles and services, migrants and displaced per-

sons use mobile and Internet technologies in planning depar-

tures, managing flight, coordinating with others, and finding

way to new locations. Similarly, organizations supporting

displaced persons are making far more intensive use of new

ICTs (Bishop & Fisher, 2015; Vernon, Deriche, & Eisenhauer,

2016). From mobiles and social media to crowdsourced map-

ping, the rapid acceleration of technology use is both benefit-

ing and creating challenges for refugees and service providers

alike. For internationally displaced persons, migrating into

Europe is associated with highly complex information needs

about the journey and the destination; each new need present-

ing problems of where to seek information, factors of trust,

and financial and other costs and where the outcomes of

receiving poor or false information can most severely cause

death, loss of family, or financial ruin.

Borkert et al. 3

Refugees and Social Media

At the margins of mainstream migration research, literature

on forced migration and media use is steadily growing,

fueled mainly by three disciplines—migration studies, media

and communication studies, and information science. The

most prominent strands of literature address transnational

migration, e-diasporas, and media landscapes and informa-

tion worlds of refugees and migrants.

Regarding transnational migration, a growing body of

research examines how migrants and refugees are using tech-

nologies, particularly cell phones, to connect to their coun-

tries of origin and, in some cases, help to create new

relationships and connections in their countries of destina-

tions (Horst, 2006; Horst & Taylor, 2014; Panagakos & Horst,

2006; Vertovec, 2004 and 2009, p. 54) calls the widespread

use of cell phones among today’s mobile populations “the

social glue of migrant transnationalism.” Furthermore, mobile

phones play a vital role for emotional intimacy. Thomas and

Lim (2010) found that the use of mobile phones among trans-

migrants enhance their overall well-being as they facilitate

communication and intimacy with loved ones in their coun-

tries of origin as well as within their diasporic communities.

As Madianou and Miller (2011) show, mobile phones enable

migrated parents to keep a (more) active role in their chil-

dren’s lives mediating new forms of digital intimacy. Studies

on transnational migration also address how mobile phones

and the virtual in general stimulate a (new) sense of belong-

ing, for constructing common experiences and social identi-

ties (Gajjala, 2004; Hedge, 2011; Parham, 2004; Wilding,

2006) as well as self-representation (Diminescu & Loveluck,

2014). Witteborn (2015) emphasizes how new technologies

enable people to enhance sociality and build networks. On a

more negative note, Archambault (2011) suggests that new

media may disrupt intimate long-distance relationships when

they are used for personal surveillance.

In the context of e-diasporas Diminescu (2008, 2012)

argued that migrants cannot be seen as “double absent”

(Sayad, 2004) but must be conceptualized as multiple con-

nected. According to Diminescu and Loveluck (2014), the

ubiquitous presence of digital technologies affects all aspects

of a migrant’s experience both pre-entry and post-arrival.

Before entering a new country, the migration journey often

starts by going “through the screen,” that is, crossing an

informational frontier made up of databases and identifica-

tion systems such as the Schengen Information System (SIS)

to gather information on the desired destination. After arrival,

migrants face the early necessity of acquiring a SIM card or

mobile phone and gain access to a computer, to find work

and stay connected with family and friends. These multiple

forms of presence leave traces in the analog and virtual world

that provide a rich ground for understanding migration tra-

jectories and migrant networks if combined together

(Diminescu and Loveluck, 2014). In addition, Georgiou

(2005, 2013) and Hepp, Bozdag, and Suna (2011) show how

diasporic minority groups use media in complex ways that

feedback how they communicate interest, make claims, and

mobilize identities. With an emphasis on youth digital dias-

poras, Leurs and Ponzanesi (2011) develop this argument

further. They stress that established dimensions to locate a

migrant’s feeling of belonging such as countries of origin/

country of destination or local/transnational no longer hold

in the hypertextual world of esthetics. In the digital diasporas

they inhabit, migrant youth show mutual recognition and

express individuality by combining national or “ethnic”

affiliations with other, largely transnational, youth subcul-

tures producing a blend of cultural belonging and hybridized

connections that is far more articulate and complex as cur-

rent theory allows (Leurs & Ponzanesi, 2011). Similar find-

ings were reported by Fisher, Yefimova, and Bishop (2016),

who worked with immigrant and refugee youth from Latin

America, Myanmar, and East Africa in understanding the

roles youth play as information guides on behalf of families,

friends, and within communities and social institutions.

Their work shows that refugee youth are early adopters of

technology and serve as linguistic, geographic, and cultural

wayfarers on behalf of others; however, youth are often over-

burdened with load of unpaid helper including in social insti-

tutions such as schools and do not share parents views of

home culture.

Providing new evidence, Gillespie et al. (2016) and Wall,

Campbell, and Janbek (2017) take a more critical stance on

new media. They confirm that new technologies play a cru-

cial role in the planning and navigating the dangers of a

migration journey as well as in a migrant’s protection and

empowerment after arrival. Yet they warn that particularly

the smartphone is a double-edged sword: As a resource,

migrants benefit for making translations, accessing vital ser-

vices (such as legal advice, medical help, and shelter), and

keeping in touch with families and friends. But the digital

traces that migrants leave make them vulnerable to surveil-

lance by state and nonstate actors and to intimidation by

extremist groups (Gillespie et al., 2016). Coining the term

“information precarity,” Wall et al. (2015) found that refu-

gees experience information precarity in five forms: in terms

of (a) the technological and social access to information; (b)

the prevalence of irrelevant, sometimes dangerous informa-

tion; (c) the lack of their own image control; (d) surveillance

by the state; and (e) disrupted social support.

Crucial to our research and understanding is the concept

of digital literacy as social practice. Although the term “digi-

tal literacy” had been applied before, its introduction is often

attributed to Gilster (1997). Pointing out the differences

between digital information media and conventional print

media, he conceptualizes digital literacy as the development

of competences in four areas, that is, assembling knowledge,

evaluating information content, searching the Internet, and

navigating hypertext (Gilster, 1997). As Lankshear and

Knobel (2006) emphasize, the most commonly used defini-

tions of digital literacy tend to (a) confine digital literacy

4 Social Media + Society

almost exclusively to roles concerned with information; (b)

taper off interaction with information to assessing its truth

(or validity), credibility, reliability, and so on, as a defense

against being manipulated; and (c) theorize it as a “thing” or

master competence to possess, lack, need, and acquire. In

this vein, digitally literate people are often seen as function-

ing better in the knowledge-driven economy, while digital

illiterate people are perceived as vulnerable and passive

(Lankshear & Knobel, 2006). In light of this criticism, con-

cepts such as media literacy and information literacy (Koltay,

2011) or, more recently, multicultural literacy and emerging

technology literacy (Cordes, 2009) soon proliferated. But

while the first two are rather applied to describing consump-

tion and not always production of digital content (Livingstone,

2004), the latter appear as subcategories of what is identified

as a key ability in the digital age. Yet in our study, we apply

a slightly different approach and follow Street (1984) in con-

ceiving literacy as “social practices and conceptions of read-

ing and writing.” Widening the notion of digital literacy, we

assume that many cultural ways of reading and writing exist

and that individuals move in and out multiple ways of read-

ing and writing. In this sense, they become both consumers

and producers of digital content as well as active agents in

digital practices of online searching and communicating. In

practice, this is demonstrated by the differences in how peo-

ple read and write on a (public) Facebook page or in a per-

son-to-person WhatsApp communication as well as in their

strategies and social practices to identify and handle mis-

leading or wrong information.

Methodology: Research Setting

The city of Berlin, where the massive influx of refugees in

2015 and 2016 caused administrative turbulences, commit-

ted support, and the rise of (new?) anti-immigrant sentiment,

provided an exceptional location for this study. Even after

the number of arrivals dropped significantly, due to the

highly disputed refugee pact between the EU and Turkey,

some 9,000 refugees are living in city gyms, the hangars at

the Tempelhof Airport or elsewhere in an absolute emer-

gency accommodation (Beikler & Vogt, 2015; Kopietz,

2016; ZEIT Online, 2016). At the time of our research, there

were two reception centers at Storkower Street, officially

belonging to the district of Pankow, where the authors

recruited their interview partners through personal appear-

ance and snowballing. Visiting the two reception centers for

weeks during working time and holidays, the trained Arabic-

speaking interviewers approached the inhabitants on the

facilities and asked about their willingness to participate in

the study. To raise the number of female interviewees, the

female interviewers turned to conducting the interview not in

the open but in the somewhat protected environment of the

refugees’ private space. The sample, however, might be

skewed toward less mobile refugees (mothers, fathers, and

elder people) who remained in the camp as those more active

were searching the city for (irregular) work and an apart-

ment. Typical for Berlin, the accommodations at Storkower

Street were situated in a converted former office building,

consisting of a collective living facility for refugees who

passed the first admission procedure and were living there

for several months but also for years as well as an emergency

shelter for the initial reception of refugees. Both facilities

accommodate roughly 500 people, of whom around 150 are

children and young people. In the first structure, the refugees

live in two- to three-bedded rooms and have common sani-

tary facilities, a kitchen as well as a common room, and din-

ing room on each floor. The facility has a play room for

children, while a playground is planned in the outdoor areas.

Refugee children for whom schooling is compulsory attend

the nearest available school. If children are unfamiliar with

the German language, they were first taught in special wel-

come classes by teachers provided by the Berlin Senate

Department for Education, Youth and Science. In addition to

the center manager, four social workers, one administrative

employee, one caretaker, and child care worker worked

there. Security guards were available 24 hr a day, and every

person aiming to enter the facility was requested to identify

themselves and register as visitor. Until today, the two facili-

ties are managed by the Protestant Youth and Welfare Office

(EJF) supported by a large circle of volunteer workers from

the citizens’ initiative “Pankow helps.” A third reception cen-

ter was opened in directly proximity in 2016 by a private

owner. In an attempt not to make the inhabitants an easy tar-

get for rising anti-immigrant sentiment in Germany, further

sociodemographic details on the accommodated refugees

was deliberately withheld.

Researching Crisis-torn

Refugees—Privacy Rights and Ethics

Interviewing recently arrived refugee adults and children,

specifically in refugee accommodation centers, requires spe-

cial sensitivity and preparation (Borkert & De Tona, 2006).

As Fontes (2009) observes, biases, cultural differences, and

linguistic misunderstandings have the potential to exert a

powerful influence in interviews with migrants—even when

interviewers have best intent. Guidelines and recommenda-

tions for interviewing migrants and refugees both adults and

children, commonly categorized as “vulnerable groups,” are

not missing. Besides, there are good publications with regard

to studying social behavior online as well as legal provisions

on processing personal data in Germany and Europe.1 As

ethical decision making is a deliberative process, the authors

consulted different people and sources during the research

process: regional experts and experienced interpreters, fel-

low researchers, and people participating in and familiar

with the context under study as well as ethic guidelines and

publications in migration and refugee studies as well as

Internet and information research. Although principles vary

by disciplines, some shared basic principles of research

Borkert et al. 5

ethics and ethical treatment of interview partners can be

identified that formed the basis of our methodological

approach. These core principles are based on the fundamen-

tal rights of human dignity, autonomy, protection, safety,

respect for human beings and particularly children, justice,

and the general public interest.2 We agree with Markham and

Buchanan (2012): that the greater the vulnerability of the

interviewee and the community he or she belongs to, the

greater the obligation of the researcher to protect the inter-

locutor and involved community. To balance harms and ben-

efits, we abandoned interview questions which potentially

could have inflicted the interviewee and exert an influence

on his or her asylum request. In consequence, detailed ques-

tions on migration routes to Germany or country of origin

context questions were not included.3 Equally, information

on specific websites of interest (URLs) was neither archived

nor subjected to analysis. As adolescents and adults were

interviewed whose first language is not German, the authors

arranged for qualified foreign language interpreter ahead of

time (Fontes, 2009). We deliberately involved Arabic-

speaking interpreters (two women and one man), who visited

the refugee accommodations in their context of volunteer

and/or professional work. The interpreters were thus known

to the refugees inhabiting the facilities as well as to the center

managers, which helped create an atmosphere of mutual trust

and confidence. As humans, adults are influenced by how

they feel physically, and the data collection assistants were

briefed not to interview refugees who were overly tired, hun-

gry, or unwell. A culturally acceptable snack was made avail-

able, and it was made sure that the interviewees were

comfortable with the room settings. In this context, some

female interviewees preferred to be interviewed in the bed-

rooms inhabited by the family in contrast to shared facilities.

According to Fontes (2009), rumors, jealousy, privacy, and

reputation are often crucial issues in close-knit (ethnic) com-

munities, while the concept of “confidentiality” may not

exist in every language. Using simple language, the inter-

viewers explained to the interviewees where their informa-

tion would be shared and with whom. Considering that

interviews which are held in a warm and friendly way are

more likely to produce valid information (Davis & Bottoms,

2002), the data collection assistants were asked to approach

and assist refugees in a warm, relaxed, supportive, and non-

judgmental manner.

Analysis

Aiming to use statistics to generalize findings, we developed

a questionnaire in English combining migration research

with information studies and building on past experiences in

research carried out in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan

(Fisher, 2018; Fisher, Yefimova, & Yafi, 2016).

The questionnaire was pretested, revised, and again pre-

tested before the actual data collection began. A total of

three qualified foreign language interpreters and three

Arabic-speaking refugees4 who volunteered for the study

were trained to assist with the compilation of the question-

naire and collected data. Using informal interpreters such as

family members and friends was avoided to increase the

accuracy, confidentiality, and impartiality in interpretation.

The assisted survey used a random sampling approach to

gather data with 83 individuals. The completed question-

naires were collected and then transferred to an (English)

online survey by a bilingual researcher. The questionnaire

comprised 30 questions, 24 closed-ended questions, and 6

open-ended questions for which six indices were constructed

to guide analysis:

•• Information needs;

•• Information seeking and role of ICTs;

•• Identifying mis- and disinformation;

•• Role of information mediaries;

•• Social and economic inclusion factors of migrants in

host communities.

Data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics disag-

gregating by age and gender and content analysis.

In terms of positionality, the co-authors bring different disci-

plinary strengths and insights to the study. German sociologist

Maren Borkert has vast international experiences in interdisci-

plinary and transdisciplinary research and communication. She

works at the intersection of business studies, innovation, and

computation and aims at introducing digital methods to the

study of migration, inclusion, and entrepreneurship. Karen

Fisher is an information scientist specializing in info-sociologi-

cal aspects of people and information. Engaged at UNHCR

Za’atari Syrian refugee camp by the Jordan/Syrian border since

2015, her field experience of displaced people by conflict zones

builds on years working with displaced migrants in the United

States. Eiad Yafi is a computer scientist having vast experience

in information and communication technologies for develop-

ment (ICT4D) with a focus on ICTs for sustainable education

and immigrants. From Homs, Syria, his family are members of

the Syrian refugee community and e-diaspora.

Findings

Demographic data included nationality, age, gender, civic

status, and country of stay. Of the 83 participants, 87% were

males and 13% female; all were between 15 and 54 years old

with 35% being youth (age: 15–24 years). For respondents

under 18 years of age, interviewers made sure to obtain

parental or guardian permission before conducting the inter-

view. Approximately 44% were married with 53% single,

1% divorced, and 1% widowed. The majority were from

Syria (77%), 15% Palestinian and Syrian Palestinian, 5 par-

ticipants from Iraq, and 1 from Egypt. The participants were

well educated: 50% completed their education before fleeing

their country. Regarding highest level of enrolled education,

23% were enrolled in a university program or above, 46% in

6 Social Media + Society

an intermediate or middle school, while 10% were in a sec-

ondary/high school, and 10% in a trade school/college.

Considering Syria’s location at the eastern end of the

Mediterranean Sea, the majority of Syrian migrants fled to

neighboring Turkey and Lebanon before able to enter Europe.

In our sample, 80% traveled by sea and land with 8% by air.

Historically, migrants move in groups to reduce the risks of

the journey. When asked, 24% traveled with friends, 20%

with spouses and/or children, and 30% with other relatives.

Yet, almost one-third (31%) traveled alone.

Information Needs

The information needs strand focused on refugees’ needs,

their information seeking, and the importance of information

before and during migration. From the survey’s 14 choices

plus “other category,” the most critical information needs

were “well-being of family in home country” (81%), “news

about my country of origin” (77%), learning a new language

(71%), and learning the culture of destination country (61%).

Learning how to use communication technologies was

reported critically important by 42%. At the other spec-

trum—information not important at all, participants listed

“communicating with smugglers while travelling” and “iden-

tifying worst European country.”

To further understand refugees’ information needs, we

asked about migration consideration factors. The current

influx of migrants to Europe provides new insights. The most

critically important were “political stability in a chosen

country” (78%) and “strong economy in the chosen country”

(77%). While 73% respondents indicated “easiness of the

asylum procedure” as an important issue; the least important

topics were “health care system” (50%), having a social sup-

port system (50%), “aid provided in host country” (41%),

and “weather/climate” (25%).

Information Seeking and ICTs

With the help of ICTs and social media networks, the par-

ticipants seemed to have little difficulty in finding needed

information, especially about route maps, identifying

essentials to bring, exchanging money, and so on. For

example, 58%, and respectively, said that it was “very easy

to find” out the economy strength and political stability in

Germany, while 49% stated that “best and worst European

countries to migrate” along with “How to use communica-

tion technology” (32%). Challenging information topics

included “health care system” (27%), “vocational and uni-

versity education for adults” (24%), and “friendliness of

local people” (21%).

Digging further, disaggregating the results by gender

and age group, shows gender was not a significant factor to

determine the use of the ICTs to seek for help or informa-

tion with 36% females and 32% males confirming not using

the mobile phone seeking for help or information. However,

disaggregating the results by age shows almost all older

participants (age: 45–54 years) used their mobile and tech-

nologies to seek help or information during their trip—con-

trasted with 36% of the 15–24 years age group. While older

people may have more familial responsibility to stay in

touch and seek/share information with family; younger

respondents, mostly males, may not have had funds to

cover calls.

Regarding ICTs for obtaining needed and serendipitous

information, 67% respondents used their mobile to call peo-

ple asking for help or information during their trip to Europe.

Most participants (88%) used their own SIM cards for

accessing the Internet/Wi-Fi since they left their country,

while 37% used Internet cafe or public places, followed by

bus/train stations (18%) for getting connections. However,

only 39% used their mobile to access social media such as

Facebook en route to Europe. This is significant, showing

that the heavy use of social media was prior to deciding and

arranging for the trip. This relatively small percentage sup-

ports others’ findings that “Conversations with other travel-

ers” is an important information source and that the smaller

portion of the refugees with continuous access to informa-

tion via social media were information mediators (Figure 1).

Identifying Mis- and Disinformation

Despite mobile use, social media, and other people as infor-

mation sources, respondents did not receive accurate infor-

mation all the time. In total, 51% stated that information was

“sometimes correct—a couple of sources were ok,” while

25% received information that was “mostly correct a lot of

valuable, accurate information,” and 23% receiving “rarely

correct” information. When asked how they knew when to

distrust information, 24% replied “learning by experience,”

suggesting refugees became aware of when to distrust infor-

mation only when faced different reality. The importance of

other people in judging information was raised by 14% who

knew to distrust information from friends and people who

arrived earlier.

Information Mediaries

Many actors played a significant role in helping refugees

to search for information using the Internet and mobile

phones. “Friends” (49%) topped the list, followed by

“other refugees” (23%). Considering that the majority of

migrants reached Europe via sea and land, smugglers sur-

prisingly were not important actors—only 6% reported

“smugglers” as providing help with searching for informa-

tion (Figure 2).

Open response data about infomediaries were analyzed

for person who helped and type or nature of help, which were

grouped into eight categories: travel/directions; information

unrelated to travel; money/material goods; refugees, child

and health care; language and education; technology; and,

Borkert et al. 7

finally, employment and membership. Since all migrants

were concerned about arriving safely to their destination, it

was expected that travel/directions was most prevalent.

Examples include the following:

•• “Someone showed us the way to the United Nations

office for the support of refugees in the capital of

Hungary” (34-year, male, Syrian, university degree

holder);

•• “A Turkish taxi driver picked us up 70 km before the

Austrian border and dropped us off in Vienna and

saved us from having to do the finger prints in

Hungary” (26-year, male, Syrian, university degree

holder);

•• “My uncle took me from Munich to Berlin” (23-year,

male, Iraqi, intermediate school/middle school certifi-

cate holder);

•• “Someone helped me to find the way to the station”

(21-year, male, Syrian, secondary school certificate

holder).

Regarding monetary and goods materials: As Middle

Eastern societies are rather conservative with strong family

relations, it was consistent that infomediary help included

family member, both close and far:

•• “My husband’s brother helped me with money” (36-

year, female, Syrian, intermediate school/middle

school certificate holder);

•• “My cousin helped me with money” (23-year, male,

Syrian, university degree holder);

•• “My brother gave me money” (24-year, male,

Syrian, intermediate school/middle school certifi-

cate holder).

The helpfulness and sympathizing of strangers,

mainly Europeans, affected by social media show that

casing the difficulties faced by migrants was demon-

strated through informational and instrumental assis-

tance, such as food, family, a car lift, shelter, children

care, and so on. These results support the Thomson

Figure 2. Actors playing significant role in helping refugees with information and technology.

Figure 1. Sources for learning the best route to travel.

8 Social Media + Society

Reuters Foundation study in September 2016, which

found that more than three-quarters of Europeans sympa-

thize with Syrian refugees coming to their countries,

challenging reports of growing anti-immigration senti-

ment across the continent. Examples of European help

include the following:

•• “The smuggler didn’t take money for the transport of

my children” (42-year, male, Syrian, intermediate

school/middle school certificate holder);

•• “In Greece, a Lebanese woman took care of my

children”;

•• “Someone gave me money after my money got sto-

len” (30-year, male, Palestinian, intermediate school/

middle school certificate holder);

•• “An Austrian family invited us to their home, fed us,

gave us money and rented a car for us to get to

Germany” (41-year, male, Syrian, intermediate

school/middle school certificate holder);

•• “A woman helped me in Berlin to find my way back

to the refugee camp and she also bought me a ticket

for the public transport” (31-year, male, Syrian, inter-

mediate school/middle school certificate holder).

“Help not related to travel” included advices to follow

groups and not individuals, the necessity to communicate

with people who arrived Germany earlier, not to trust smug-

glers, and information on asylum process in Germany and

Austria, how to find a pediatrician, “warning from the

police and from the places where the police usually are”

(32-year, male, Syrian, secondary school certificate holder)

and “My uncle registered me in a football club” (19-year,

male Syrian).

Given the plethora of Facebook pages and other messag-

ing applications as sources of information to migrants seek-

ing a safer place, we asked whether the refugees themselves

were contributing to sharing information with others, on

which platform, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, and

so on, and what data were being shared, such as posts, texts,

voice messages, maps, video file, and so on. Analysis

showed that respondents were not spending large times

sharing information while traveling, especially as Facebook

was inaccessible at times. Only 18% posted daily on

Facebook and 12% posted to Facebook groups pages.

However, text messaging was popular, due to the ease of

using WhatsApp and Viber: 42% sent text messages via

chat applications when traveling, while 39% sent voice

messages via same applications. Sending maps or video

files was not significant, due to poor connectivity and other

factors. This low sharing behavior was boosted on arrival in

Europe: daily texting and voice messaging remained high-

est at 42% and 39%; sending maps and video files daily via

social media also increased, suggesting refugees had good

connectivity in Germany.

Discussion: The Need for a Radical New

Approach to Understanding Migration

Our research confirms the relevance of smartphones and

Internet-based communication tools such as WhatsApp and

Facebook for migration but highlights the intrinsic value of

other people. This finding is consistent with the UNHCR

Connecting Refugees report (Vernon et al., 2016) and

International Rescue Committee (IRC), which assessed the

importance of mobiles to Arab refugees in 2015 (Handelsblatt,

2015). Our research shows that social media enables contact

with families and friends, while creating and maintaining

social networks between those on the move and people who

migrated prior, shedding a fresh light on the question of dis-

rupted social support in situations of dislocation and refuge

(Wall et al., 2017; see also Dekker, Engbersen, Klaver, &

Vonk, in this special section). Our findings support Gillespie

et al. (2016) and Wall et al. (2017) that refugees who fled to

the EU, in 2015–2016, particularly from Syria and Iraq, are

largely well educated and digitally literate. They are fre-

quently concerned about staying connected, finding access to

Wi-Fi and phone charging but most of all to stay safe online

and off-line. Misinformation is widespread, and it is difficult

to know which information to trust (Gillespie et al., 2016).

Indeed, people enjoy sharing information, even when they

do not believe it (Karlova & Fisher, 2013). In consequence,

misinformation and disinformation, defined as inaccurate

information and deceptive information, respectively, have to

be considered as varieties of human information behavior.

Both are by default diffused through social networks. Social

media such as Facebook and WhatsApp has made their diffu-

sion easier and faster. As our research shows migrants and

particularly refugees for whom false information can poten-

tially lead to severe harm and even death are very well aware

of default and misleading information circulating in social

media. Nevertheless, refugees described being both consum-

ers and producers of social media content. With 95% of them

using their smartphone during their journey to Europe, they

demonstrate an advanced degree of digital connectivity and

literacy. This holds true also after they arrived in Europe and

Germany: 89% and 84% of refugees shared information on

their journey via WhatsApp, Viber, and so on as a text or

voice message with 42% and 39% doing so daily.

Our findings highlight, on one hand, the relevance of

transnational digital networks among refugees and migrants

as well as their impact on migration movements. The over-

whelming majority (85.5%) of the refugees, in fact, learned

their best route to Europe via Facebook, WhatsApp, or

Viber. Literally, no one accessed book or library computers

for this purpose. With strong digital literacy, our findings

show, on the other hand, that migrants are digital agents of

change who themselves post and share information in social

media and digital social networks. As both consumer and

producer of digital migration knowledge, they, furthermore,

demonstrate an elaborate degree of awareness with regard

Borkert et al. 9

to information quality, mis- and disinformation. Besides

digital connectivity and social media literacy, it is the social

ties to persons who successfully migrated that our respon-

dents considered most trustworthy in terms of accurateness,

completeness, and trueness of information. The latter points

toward a certain rationality in matters of flight that seem to

contradict the common idea of fleeing as a helter-skelter

reaction to a situation of stress in which someone leaves

everything behind and starts to run. For the persons inter-

viewed, at least, fleeing rather seems to manifest itself as an

(pro)active process of decision making in which complex

information needs and information gains through social

media play a vital role.

Finally, we wish to highlight three implications of our

main findings summarized above: This regards, first and

foremost, the common misconception that all refugees are

passive victims fleeing misery with nothing but their lives.

Our research shows instead that the newly arrived refugees

in Germany actively escaped using a wide range of

resources and skills available to them (including ICT, fam-

ily ties, creative solution seeking, and the rational assess-

ment of information quality, for instance). To our

understanding, this false image of refugees in Germany

needs to be revoked. Second, our analysis of the digital

connectivity, information behavior, and interaction needs

among refugees during and after their journey to Europe

calls for the establishment of a digital scholarship in migra-

tion studies capable of exploring the digital traces that

migrants leave behind with digital (=computational) tools,

while contributing to the development of own methodolog-

ical approaches and theoretical perspectives based on

achievements of the social sciences in the analog era. Third,

for future research, we recommend focus on understanding

the most effective ways of facilitating integration that

reflect refugees’ cultural and communication stances, spe-

cifically regarding people, place, and time. Fisher (2018),

for example, reports on distinct design and field research

insights of Syrians displaced in the Middle East that are

relevant to co-designing integration services, systems, and

policies in Germany and EU. Examples include under-

standing the roles of young Arabs (male and female) in

serving as infomediaries in sub-communities; how libraries

and other cultural agencies may be engaged in integration,

especially given our study’s finding that refugees did not

use books and libraries while en route to Germany; and

facilitating refugees’ needs and access to information about

education, health care, civics, and other hard-to-find topics.

Relatedly, activities that bring mainstream society together

with refugees such that established residents can under-

stand the culture, experiences, and concerns of refugees are

also needed for future work.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect

to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-

ship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes

1. For the latter especially the data protection directive (Directive

95/46/EC) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR

2016/679) of the European Union (EU) which enters into force

on 25 May 2018 proved to be informative.

2. These principles are codified in policies and documents

such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Helsinki

Declaration, and the Belmont Report or the European Textbook

on Ethics in Research.

3. According to the Dublin Regulation (Regulation No. 604/2013

and predecessors), an EU law, a refugee’s asylum request must

be processed in the EU Member State through which the appli-

cant first enters the EU. Thus, asylum applicants tend to be

careful when talking about their stories of flight as details

might be used against them during the asylum process. In an

attempt to relieve pressure on Hungary and Greece, in 2015,

Berlin stopped returning Syrian asylum seekers to their first

port of entry in the EU. Yet information on migration journeys

and flight routes remains sensitive as non-Syrian nationals tried

to benefit from the exemption and enter the EU pretending to

be Syrian nationals. Together with the EURODAC Regulation

which establishes a Europe-wide fingerprint database for

unauthorized entrants to the EU, the Dublin Regulation is the

cornerstone of the Dublin System.

4. A total of two studied at TU Berlin and one inhabited the same

refugee accommodation facility and considered trustworthy by

the engaged foreign language interpreters.

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Author Biographies

Maren Borkert (PhD, Technical University Berlin), is a Marie-

Curie-Experienced Researcher at the School of Economics and

Management, Centre for Entrepreneurship, Chair of Entrepreneurship

and Innovation Management, TU Berlin. Her research interests

include digital innovation and networks, inclusive entrepreneurship,

and European migration governance.

Karen E. Fisher (PhD, University of Washington), is a professor at

the Information School and an adjunct professor at the Department

of Communication, University of Washington; as well as Consultant

with UNHCR (Jordan); Visiting Professor, Open Lab, Newcastle

University, United Kingdom; and Adjunct Professor, Åbo Akademi

University, Finland.

Eiad Yafi (PhD, Universiti Kuala Lumpur), is a senior lecturer at

Malaysian Institute of Information Technology, Universiti Kuala

Lumpur. From Homs, Syria, he received his PhD in Computer

Science (Data Mining) from Jamia Hamdard University, India, in

2011.