Evaluating the potential of YouTube in disseminating biodiversity-related information from Africa

YouTube (YT), an online video content application, has revolutionized the dissemination of 10 information in various fields, including medicine, entertainment, and conservation science. Its 11 potential in disseminating information regarding biodiversity conservation has not been well 12 evaluated, especially in Africa, which is generally a biodiversity hotspot. If conducted, it’s usually 13 species-specific, activity-based, or localized and, therefore, cannot be generalized. We evaluated 14 the reach of the videos posted from Africa across different organism groups, countries (geopolitical 15 units), geographical regions, ecoregions, and channels (content creators). We retrieved 432 videos, 16 which collectively garnered 35,972,748 views, 416700 likes, and 52864 comments across 274 17 channels, five regions, and 31 African countries. The mean views per day varied significantly 18 across regions, organism groups, and channels. Notably, more views per day were from 19 biodiversity-rich countries, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar. Most 20 videos were posted from South Africa, mainly about the effects of pollution on humans.

Government and academic institutions posted fewer videos than individually owned and 22 international biodiversity-related non-governmental organization channels. Also, most channels 23 posting about African biodiversity are based in the USA. Increased attention to biodiversity will 24 possibly stimulate external funding and international collaborations. We observed a great need for 25 increased participation, mostly by government institutions, to effectively adopt a strong social 26 media strategy to communicate information about biodiversity conservation, mainly to the 27 emerging young population