insert_link 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 […] today18 June, 2024
insert_link Science & Technology Hate speech and disinformation in South Africa’s elections: big tech make it tough to monitor social media By Guy Berger, Rhodes University There’s a growing global movement to ensure that researchers can get access to the huge quantity of data assembled and exploited by digital operators. Momentum is mounting because it’s becoming increasingly evident that data is power. And access to it is the key – for a host of reasons, not least transparency, human rights and electoral integrity. But there’s currently […] today28 May, 2024
insert_link Namibia ECN addresses mis- and disinformation concerns for 2024 election The Electoral Commission of Namibia has acknowledged the Namibia Fact Check report's concerns about potential mis- and disinformation in the 2024 election. The ECN has thus called on citizens to critically evaluate information, verify sources, and engage responsibly. Here is the ECN spokesperson, De Wet Siluka. today20 May, 2024
insert_link World How conspiracy theories help to maintain Vladimir Putin’s grip on power in Russia By Gemma Ware, The Conversation As Russians head to the polls on March 15 for the presidential election, conspiracy theories are swirling everywhere. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to a disinformation expert about the central role these theories play in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. As soon as the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a Siberian penal colony was announced in February, […] today15 March, 2024
World World Day Against Cyber Censorship: RSF runs “one of the world’s biggest censorship circumvention operations” To mark World Day Against Cyber Censorship, which Reporters Without Borders (RSF) initiated and which is celebrated on 12 March, RSF is pleased to announce that its Operation Collateral Freedom is currently enabling the websites of more than 100 media outlets in 32 countries to circumvent censorship – a 20% increase in one year. Launched by RSF in 2015, Operation Collateral Freedom enables media outlets throughout the world to circumvent […] today12 March, 2024
insert_link Science & Technology OpenAI’s new video generation tool raises concerns "Sora" is another giant leap in artificial intelligence. It is the latest tool released by the company behind the groundbreaking chatbot ChatGPT. It can create realistic-looking videos based on a simple text prompt. But there are concerns about what "Sora" could unleash. today7 March, 2024
insert_link Namibia Information Ministry to serve as central hub for late President Geingob’s funeral plans Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Peya Mushelenga, has urged the public to disregard information circulating on social media regarding the mourning and funeral arrangements of the late President Hage Geingob. Geingob who was 82, died on Sunday in Windhoek. today7 February, 2024
insert_link Lifestyle Disinformation is often blamed for swaying elections – the research says something else Alexandru Nika/Shutterstock Magda Osman, Cambridge Judge Business School Many countries face general elections this year. Political campaigning will include misleading and even false information. Just days ago, it was reported that a robocall impersonating US president Joe Biden had told recipients not to vote in the presidential primary. But can disinformation significantly influence voting? There are two typical styles of election campaigning. One is positive, presenting favourable attributes of politicians […] today29 January, 2024
insert_link Lifestyle Deepfakes: How to empower youth to fight the threat of misinformation and disinformation Deepfakes pose a profound social threat, and education along with technology and legislation matters for containing and addressing this. (Shutterstock) Nadia Naffi, Université Laval The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 has issued a stark warning: misinformation and disinformation, primarily driven by deepfakes, are ranked as the most severe global short-term risks the world faces in the next two years. In October 2023, the Innovation council of Québec shared […] today29 January, 2024
