Disinformation

Media Ombudsman Warns of Rising Misinformation in Elections

The Media Ombudsman, Christie Keulder, has raised concerns over the growing spread of misinformation and disinformation in the country’s electoral process. Speaking at the Media Monitoring Report on the 2024 Presidential and National Assembly elections in Windhoek, Keulder stressed that Namibia is already experiencing the impact of false information campaigns. Catch last night's full bulletin on oneafrica.tv. Weeknights at 7 watch it on GoTv 84, DSTv 284 or stream for […]

21 February, 2025 38

Namibia

Namibia Fact Check, Africa Check discuss future of election monitoring

Namibia Fact Check, in collaboration with Africa Check, held an election fact-checking coalition review conference in Windhoek on Wednesday. The purpose of the conference was to assess their efforts in combating misinformation and disinformation during the 2024 Presidential elections. Frederico Links from Namibia Fact Check stressed the importance of evaluating the coalition's response and discussing future strategies. He noted that as the elections approach, it […]

30 January, 2025 33

Namibia

Meta to replace fact-checkers with community notes

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced plans to overhaul its content review policies by removing third-party fact-checkers and introducing user-generated community notes to moderate misinformation. The move comes amid criticism from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican allies, who have long accused the company of censoring right-wing voices through its fact-checking initiatives. Meta, which boasts over three billion users globally, defended the policy shift as […]

8 January, 2025 48

World

US accuses Russia of interfering with its presidential election

US attorney general, Merrick Garland, says Russian President Vladamir Putin's inner circle directed companies to promote disinformation as part of a programme to influence the presidential election. The Justice Department has filed charges against two Moscow-based managers of state broadcaster RT, for allegedly paying content creators in America to pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation to US audiences.

5 September, 2024 38

World

Chinese and Russian disinformation flourishes in some African countries – anti-US sentiment helps it take hold

By Dani Madrid-Morales, University of Sheffield; Herman Wasserman, Stellenbosch University, and Saifuddin Ahmed, Nanyang Technological University The spread of disinformation is one of the biggest risks to societies. Recent examples have been conspiracy narratives about COVID-19 vaccinations and false claims about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The trend is linked partly to competition among world powers, which is being played out in Africa too. Across the continent, multiple foreign […]

5 September, 2024 23

Opinion Pieces

Social media: Disinformation expert offers 3 safety tips in a time of fake news and dodgy influencers

Boniface Muthoni/SOPA Images/LightRocke By Fabrice Lollia, Université Gustave Eiffel Social networks have revolutionised the way we communicate, stay informed and share moments of our daily lives. We use platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to keep in touch with our friends and family, share our experiences, keep informed, and express our opinions. But beyond these personal and often superficial uses, social networks play a much more complex […]

9 August, 2024 34

Uncategorized

Political analyst warns of tense political climate in Namibia

With Namibia preparing for elections on 27 November 2024, we contacted political analyst Prof. Dr. Henning Melber, a Senior Research Associate at the Nordic Africa Institute in Sweden, for his opinion on the country's current political climate. Prof. Melber describes the political atmosphere as highly competitive and tense, noting an increase in inappropriate tactics and the spread of fake news. He highlights that the electorate faces appeals to prejudices and […]

6 August, 2024 70

World

France to try suspects over false Brigitte Macron transgender claim

Two women are to be tried this week over false claims that France's first lady Brigitte Macron was transgender, which sparked online rumour-mongering by conspiracy theorists and the far-right. In 2022, Brigitte Macron filed a complaint for libel against two women who posted a YouTube video in December 2021 alleging she had once been a man named "Jean-Michel". The claim went viral just weeks before the 2022 […]

18 June, 2024 478

Africa

AI can make African elections more efficient – but trust must be built and proper rules put in place

Election officials confirm a voter’s biometric details during Kenya’s 2022 elections. James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket By Shamira Ahmed, European University Institute and Mehari Taddele Maru, European University Institute Time magazine has dubbed 2024 a “super election year”. An astonishing 4 billion people are eligible to vote in countries across the world this year. Many are on the African continent, where presidential, parliamentary and general elections have already […]

18 June, 2024 30