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Digital Disinformation in Africa: Hashtag Politics, Power and Propaganda

Tony Roberts, George Hamandishe Karekwaivanane (ed.)

London: Zed Books (2024), xiv, 242 pp.

"In an era when hashtag campaigns like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter capture global attention for victims of injustice, politicians and corporations are now spending billions employing Cambridge Analytica-type consultancies to manufacture disinformation - employing trolls, cyborgs and bots to disrupt ... more

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“It Was Very Hard for Me to Keep Doing That Job”: Understanding Troll Farm’s Working in the Arab World

Marina Ayeb, Tiziano Bonini

Social Media + Society, volume 10, issue 1 (2024), 10 pp.

"This article investigates the production culture and routines of “troll farms” in three Arab countries—Tunisia, Egypt, and Iraq—from a production studies approach. A production studies approach enables us to focus on the working conditions of paid trolls. We employed qualitative methods to ... more

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State of the Media: Timor-Leste 2024

Matthew Abud, Zevonia Vieira

ABC International Development; Asia Foundation (2024), 77 pp.

"This study provides a detailed snapshot of Timor-Leste’s media in late 2023, exploring the operations and business models of media outlets, the legal landscape, proposed government programs impacting media, and relevant infrastructure ahead of an anticipated significant increase in digital connec ... more

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Misinformation technology: Internet use and political misperceptions in Africa

Joel Cariolle, Yasmine Elkhateeb, Mathilde Maurel

Journal of Comparative Economics, volume 52, issue 2 (2024), pp. 400-433

"The use of the Internet to access news has an impact on African citizens’ perceptions of democracy. Using repeated cross-sectional data from the Afrobarometer survey across 35 African countries over the period 2011–2018, along with an instrumental variable approach, allows addressing potential ... more

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Online Disinformation in Brazil: A Typology of Discursive Action of Harmful Political Content on WhatsApp and Facebook

Tatiana Dourado, Victor Piaia, Viktor Chagas, Dalby Dienstbach, Marco Aurelio Ruediger, Eurico Matos, João Guilherme Bastos dos Santos

International Journal of Communication, volume 18 (2024), pp. 2685-2709

"This article investigates harmful political content in public WhatsApp and Facebook groups of the radical Right in Brazil. Considering harmful political content as that which generates direct damage to the quality, reasonableness, and plurality of public discussion, we investigate the enunciative a ... more

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Disinformation and Polarization in the Algorithmic Society: Online Hate Speech Trilogy, vol. I

Branco di Fátima (ed.)

Covilhã; Cali: LABCOM; Editorial Universidad Icesi (2024), 209 pp.

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The Platformisation of Consumer Culture: A Digital Methods Guide

Alessandro Caliandro, Alessandro Gandini, Lucia Bainotti, Guido Anselmi

Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press (2024), 282 pp.

"This book offers a unique methodological guide for social and marketing scholars interested in understanding and using digital methods to explore the processes of platformisation of consumer culture unfolding on digital media. The book introduces the reader to key digital methods concepts, strategi ... more

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‘Living in a post-truth era’? Online misinformation in everyday life in rural and urban China

Pu Yan, Ralph Schroeder

Information, Communication & Society (2024), 21 pp.

"This paper investigates everyday information seeking and misinformation among Internet users in rural and urban China. The research employs both quantitative and qualitative methods to identify user demographics and categories of misinformation encountered on mobile devices online. The paper makes ... more

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Unmasking Vulnerability: Understanding Disinformation in Samtskhe-Javakheti

Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC); International Media Support (IMS) (2024), 31 pp.

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Mapping a Surge of Disinformation in Africa

Washington, DC: Africa Center for Strategic Studies, March 13 (2024)

"Disinformation campaigns have targeted every region of the continent. At least 39 African countries have been the target of a specific disinformation campaign. Disinformation tends to be concentrated. Half of the countries subjected to disinformation (20 of the 39) have been targeted three or more ... times, up from just seven countries meeting that threshold in 2022. African countries experiencing conflict are subject to much greater levels of disinformation—facing a median of 5 campaigns– highlighting the connection between instability and disinformation. Countries confronting disinformation typically face multiple disinformation actors. At times, these actors amplify one another’s misleading narratives, while at others, they clash or stay in separate lanes. Nearly 60 percent of disinformation campaigns on the continent are foreign state-sponsored—with Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar as the primary sponsors. Russia continues to be the primary purveyor of disinformation in Africa, sponsoring 80 documented campaigns, targeting more than 22 countries. This represents nearly 40 percent of all disinformation campaigns in Africa. These 80 campaigns have reached many millions of users through tens of thousands of coordinated fake pages and posts. Aggressively leveraging disinformation is a mainstay of Russia’s use of irregular channels to gain influence in Africa. Russia has promulgated disinformation to undermine democracy in at least 19 African countries, contributingto the continent’s backsliding on this front. African elections provide prime opportunities for disinformation. Some employ mercenary disinfo-ops teams. One private Israeli group, dubbed “Team Jorge,” has reportedly implemented disinformation campaigns to disrupt over 20 African elections since 2015. Domestic actors have also increasingly integrated disinformation into their political playbooks, notably during Kenya’s 2022 and Nigeria’s 2023 election. African countries that uphold presidential term limits (i.e., those with stronger checks and balances) are less exposed to foreign sponsored disinformation, with an average of 1.5 campaigns compared to an average of over 3 campaigns for countries without term limits. This underscores the common aim of foreign disinformation to prop up authoritarian actors." (Highlights) more

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Global Journalism in Comparative Perspective: Case Studies

Dhiman Chattopadhyay (ed.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), xvii, 251 pp.

"This book explores how journalism is practiced around the world and how there are multiple factors at the structural and contextual level shaping journalism practice. Drawing on case studies of how conflicts, pandemics, political developments, or human rights violations are covered in an online-fir ... more

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Online Toxicity Against Syrians in Turkish Twitter: Analysis and Implications

Hala Mulki, Samir Alabdullah, Ahmed Halil, Nawari Al-Ali, Maria Kyriakidou, Ludek Stavinoha

International Journal of Communication, volume 18, issue 24 (2024), pp. 191-218

"This study examines the portrayal of Syrians on Turkish Twitter between January and August 2021 through a big data analysis of more than 30,000 tweets. We employ the concept of online toxicity to differentiate between disinformation and hate speech and explore how they are embedded in the negative ... more

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Understanding and Addressing Mis-/Disinformation in the Afghan Media Ecosystem

Internews (2024), 21 pp.

"This report summarizes Internews’ six-month social media monitoring research conducted in 2023 that aimed to better understand the online mis- and disinformation environment in Afghanistan. [...] The first phase of the study revealed key aspects of Afghanistan's digital information landscape. The ... research found four common narratives around mis- and disinformation including the Taliban/Taliban de facto authorities’ threat to human and minority rights, loss of self-rule, the Taliban de facto authorities’ legitimacy as a governing body, and opposition to their governance. Most of the associated mis- and disinformation associated with these narratives originated from the Afghan diaspora. The research also found a gender imbalance in the digital discourse, with male-dominated discussions and limited female participation. Gender narratives on social media are mostly driven by men, often portraying women passively, and include disinformation tactics by the Taliban de facto authorities, such as falsely showing women's support for oppressive policies. Anti-Taliban sentiments included former government figures who significantly shape digital discourse and contribute to spreading disinformation including exaggerations or fabrications of the authorities’ actions. However, alongside anti-Taliban sentiments, there was a notable pro-Taliban commentary endorsing their governance and presenting them in favourable ways. Our findings for the second phase reveal several troubling trends. Many news stories feature clickbait or misleading headlines that don't align with the actual content. A significant problem is the presentation of unverified information as fact, which fosters public mistrust. Approximately 40% of false news stories lack sources, and over half rely on just a single source, affecting the depth and reliability of reporting. Additionally, there is a tendency to use sensational headlines and emotionally charged content to increase engagement, often sacrificing factual accuracy. The rapid spread of misinformation is also facilitated by exploiting audience behaviours on social media. Afghan media, particularly those dependent on donor funding, struggle to balance accurate reporting with the need for high audience engagement. Complex reporting dynamics in Afghanistan include protecting sources, relying on second-hand information, and the difficulty of verifying claims made on social media. While some media outlets endeavour to use diverse sources, the challenges of fact verification and maintaining reporting integrity persist. The report recommends establishing fact-checking initiatives, promoting digital literacy, and ethical journalism practices. For media outlets, transparency, audience engagement, and balance are key. Meanwhile, donors should prioritize funding for independent media, invest in technology, and support capacity building and collaborative reporting initiatives." (Executive summary, page 3) more

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Disinformation and Peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa: Security Implications of AI-Altered Information Environments

Eduardo Albrecht, Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, Rebecca Brubaker

New York, Geneva: United Nations University (UNU) (2024), 39 pp.

"[...] this report aims to further explore the way in which AI technologies as they currently stand impact peace and conflict, and what methods might be used to mitigate their adverse effects - through the development of better tools and the inclusion of peace and conflict considerations in AI gover ... nance frameworks. The report presents the following findings: 1. AI is a driver of disinformation which adversely impacts peacebuilding efforts. 2. There are several ways to mitigate AI-powered disinformation. 3. AI can also be used to promote peacebuilding, although these mechanisms are still in their early stages. In relation to these findings, the report proposes the following recommendations: 1. More funding and support should be provided to civil society organizations’ efforts to expand media literacy and fact-checking initiatives using AI tools to enhance capabilities. 2. Governments need to work with civil society to develop and implement comprehensive, transparent legal frameworks combating disinformation. These legislative measures need to support digital and media literacy campaigns and fact-checking organizations. 3. Social media companies need to expand investment and research into understanding local information environments, so they can better identify and respond to instances of disinformation in all contexts in which they operate and enhance transparency. 4. Peacebuilding organizations need to carefully consider local media ecosystems and information environments when conducting conflict analyses, and factor these dynamics into their projects’ frameworks. Currently, disinformation exacerbates existing grievances and polarization, can act as a trigger for violence, leads individuals to make decisions based on false information, and creates or intensifies mistrust of institutions and international peacebuilding efforts. The efforts of journalists and civil society organizations to combat these effects, primarily through media literacy initiatives and factchecking, cannot keep up with the scope and scale of ‘fake news.’ Generative AI will increase the rate at which false content is produced and disseminated, and the quality or ‘believability’ of such content. Governments, civil society, and social media companies must work in tandem to combat the spread of disinformation and the impact it can have on peacebuilding efforts and security in sub-Saharan Africa." (Executive summary) more

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The Fragility of Freedom: Online Holocaust Denial and Distortion

London: Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD); Coalition to Counter Online Antisemitism (CCOA) (2024), 37 pp.

"The antisemitism landscape, including Holocaust denial and distortion, had shifted so drastically since October 7 that previous assumptions and understands now demand re-examination. In the run up to Holocaust Memorial Day 2024, this research compilation by members of the Coalition to Counter Onlin ... more

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Falsehoods Fly: Why Misinformation Spreads and How to Stop it

Paul Thagard

New York: Columbia University Press (2024), xii, 357 pp.

"Misinformation is one of the twenty-first century’s greatest challenges, a peril to democracy, peace, science, and public health. Yet we lack a clear understanding of what makes misinformation so potent and why it can spread so rapidly. In Falsehoods Fly, a leading cognitive scientist and philoso ... more

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Epistemic Rights in the Era of Digital Disruption

Minna Aslama Horowitz, Hannu Nieminen, Katja Lehtisaari, Alessandro D'Arma (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan; International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) (2024), 226 pp.

"This open-access volume argues that in a functioning democracy, citizens should be equally capable of making informed choices about matters of social importance. This includes citizens accessing all relevant information and knowledge necessary for informed will formation. In today's complex era of ... more

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The Routledge Handbook of Discourse and Disinformation

Stefania Maci, Massimiliano Demata, Mark McGlashan, Philip Seargeant (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), xxi, 431 pp.

"This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of research into discourses of disinformation, misinformation, post-truth, alternative facts, hate speech, conspiracy theories, and 'fake news'. Divided into two sections, it provides a detailed look at the methodological challenges and approaches for s ... more

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Digitale Ethik
Deep Insights

Petra Grimm, Kai Erik Trost, Oliver Zöllner (eds.)

Baden-Baden: Nomos; Verlag Karl Alber (2024), 661 pp.

"Das neue umfassende Standardwerk für den Bereich der Digitalen Ethik. Das Handbuch verschafft einen Überblick über die Herausforderungen und Besonderheiten der Ethik im digitalen Raum und versammelt namhafte Expert:innen zu folgenden Themenfeldern: Theoretische Zugänge (Deontologische Ansätze, ... more

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How to Track Online Disinformation Networks
Key Guides

Nicola Bruno

Tactical Tech (2024)

"This guide is not just a manual; it’s a call to action for journalists, activists, and researchers to delve into the murky waters of digital deceit, in order to expose networked disinformation and manipulation campaigns. With a clear, easy-to-use 4-step methodology, the guide empowers you to disc ... more

Digitale Ethik Deep Insights

How to Track Online Disinformation Networks Key Guides

Digitale Ethik
Deep Insights

How to Track Online Disinformation Networks
Key Guides