disinformation - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Deepfakes are still new, but 2024 could be the year they have an impact on elections

DISINFORMATION caught many people off guard during the 2016 Brexit referendum and the US presidential election. Since then, a mini-industry has developed to analyse and counter it. Yet despite that, we have entered 2024 – a year of more than 40 elections worldwide – more fearful than ever about disinformation. In many ways, the problem is more challenging than it was in 2016. Advances in technology since then are one reason for that, in particular the development that has taken place with synthetic media, otherwise known as deepfakes. It is increasingly difficult to know whether media has been fabricated by…

Jul

2022

By DANI MADRID-MORALES and HERMAN WASSERMAN

Media literacy education in South Africa can help combat fake news – here’s what’s needed

MEDIA FREEDOM

Online platforms are replete with examples of false information – from WhatsApp messages punting some miraculous cure for COVID, to social media posts claiming a politician said something they didn’t. It’s increasingly common in South Africa. More than 75% of South Africans say they regularly come across political news they think is false. Eight out of 10 South Africans believe that disinformation (or “fake news”) is a problem or a serious problem in the country. Researchers and policy makers have been working on strategies to counter disinformation for years. Some policymakers have suggested new regulations or pressuring technology companies to…

Feb

2022

By The African Mirror

Saving journalism: views on how to pay for reliable information

MEDIA FREEDOM

JOURNALISM globally faces a sustainability crisis. It largely stems from declining advertising revenue, loss of revenue to technology giants, control of news media by political actors and individuals with business interests, disinformation and dwindling public trust. Author THEODORA DAME ADJIN-TETTEY, Research Associate, School of Journalism and Madia Studies, Rhodes University, South Africa / Lecturer, Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Rhodes University Twisting the knife in the wound, the financial pressure on media organisations has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the US, for example, at least 21 local newspapers merged and about 1,400 newsroom staffers lost their…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Punitive laws are failing to curb misinformation in Africa. Time for a rethink

MEDIA FREEDOM

MISINFORMATION, best understood as false or misleading information whether or not it was intended to mislead, has long been recognised as a problem worldwide. Together with disinformation, which is spread deliberately to misinform or mislead, it constitutes a key part of the information disorder distorting public debate around the world. PETER CUNLIFFE-JONES, Visiting Researcher & Co-Director Chevening African Media Freedom Fellowship, University of Westminster ALAN FINLAY, Lecturer: Journalism and Media Studies, University of the Witwatersrand ANYA SCHIFFRIN, Director, Technology, Media, and Communications specialization, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University Concern about the effects of misinformation on individuals and…