"[...] The analysis of disinformation is broken down into four elements (the four “D”s of disinformation): dimensions, dynamics, drivers, and directions. What emerges is actually a tendency towards continuity with disinformation operations prior to the process of digitalization. While the goals of these practices have not changed, the distinctive features of new technologies have enabled the use of new techniques such as micro-targeting or message personalization. Another key question addressed is whether digital disinformation in Africa is significantly different from digital disinformation in other parts of the world. To understand what is “specifically African” about digital disinformation in Africa, the familiarity of the expert contributors with local history is undoubtedly an essential tool, considering that it is inconceivable to “translate” interpretive categories from the phenomenon that originate in the United States or Europe. The authors’ approach revealed a certain continuity between colonial and postcolonial experiences of disinformation that is not a feature of European or North American disinformation studies.
[...] At the same time, however, this detailed examination of local situations, country by country, while valuable because it is developed by experts in the field, represents a weakness in the volume, as the adoption of the same structure in each chapter appears to the reader as a repetition that diverts attention. Even from a content perspective, examples of disinformation inevitably recur, as they are recorded in more than one state. The problem is mainly on the content side since the examples of disinformation recorded in individual states are inevitably repeated. These in fact mostly concern disinformation campaigns carried out on major social media during elections or the use of hashtags on the same platforms. The structure of the book suggests that there are qualitative and structural differences in disinformation campaigns in each state, when this does not seem to be the case. A more organic and fluid structure might have involved dividing the research findings by thematic areas rather than by individual states, especially since digital space and disinformation campaigns cross national borders. Focusing only on states could result in overlooking this transnational aspect of the issue.
Beyond these criticisms, the book’s contribution to the academic literature on disinformation is substantial and should attract the attention of readers and scholars interested in the issue of information freedom in today’s increasingly attacked and manipulated digital context. Among the strengths, beyond the accuracy in the in-depth study of a phenomenon that is as well-known as underexplored with reference to the African continent, is the idea that in situations characterized by internal disorders and weak protection of human rights, digital disinformation can produce even more serious consequences than it would normally produce in other parts of the world. It should also not be underestimated how in some cases this phenomenon is also precisely fueled by Western influences that overlook the precariousness of the context in which they go about their actions." (Review by Susanna De Stefani at Revdem Review of Democracy, https://revdem.ceu.edu/2025/02/14/disinformation-africa)