misinformation

ADF STAFF By the time Burkina Faso’s health ministry declared an epidemic of dengue fever on October 18, 2023, there already were thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was the West African…

ADF STAFF Disinformation campaigns seeking to manipulate African information systems have increased nearly fourfold since 2022. That is according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), which linked disinformation campaigns…

ADF STAFF A new Russian news service is drawing criticism for spreading misleading and harmful information in Africa. The African Initiative is an online platform with deep ties to the notorious Russian mercenary outfit formerly known as…

ADF STAFF As global outrage grew over its invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Russia in 2023 began ramping up its efforts to change the narrative. Seeking to influence public opinion, the Kremlin expanded its information warfare operations…

ADF STAFF South Africa’s Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) organization is developing an artificial intelligence tool designed to monitor social media posts and flag those suspected of inciting violence. Insights into Incitement, shortened to…

ADF STAFF In Somalia, terror group al-Shabaab has spent years gaining and losing ground. But in the digital domain, al-Shabaab has limitless space in which to expand. It’s where one of the world’s best-financed terror groups spreads its…

ADF STAFF Information warfare has become a ubiquitous threat in nearly all of Africa’s violent conflicts. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and the Sahel region, social media platforms have augmented…

ADF STAFF Somalia and the al-Shabaab terrorist group are fighting a war within a war — a constant battle to prop up and take down websites and social media accounts that disseminate extremist propaganda and disinformation. Somalia’s…

ADF STAFF In Africa, the Russian mercenary outfit formerly known as the Wagner Group left a trail of allegations of massacres, executions, torture, rape and theft. Because Russia has partnered with a handful of repressive authoritarian…

ADF STAFF When reports surfaced in late April that the Burkinabe Army massacred hundreds of civilians, its military-led government sprang into action. It suspended a host of media outlets, blocked websites, and shut down radio and…