"The destruction of Sudan’s established information infrastructure at the outset of the conflict in April 2023 has created an environment where systematic information manipulation and disinformation campaigns now flourish unchecked. This has intersected with increasing systematic information manipulation and disinformation campaigns led by warring actors, from the politicised military apparatus to geopolitical influencers including bots and trolls, all wielding significant influence. The result is an information environment characterised by alternative ‘facts’, misleading narratives and information, and hate speech, all of which continue to further entrench divisions, fuel conflict, and destroy social cohesion.
The information war in Sudan operates as a deliberate hybrid warfare strategy, where the digital dissemination of disinformation and hate speech functions as a systematic precursor to physical violence and military operations. Hate speech is not spontaneous but constitutes organised work running parallel to the military conflict. Its primary function is to trigger citizens’ deepest instincts such as fears about threats to their honour, women, and family in order to mobilise and recruit them into fighting for the armed factions.
Beyond territory, the conflict has deliberately instrumentalised and intensified social divisions that transcend geographic boundaries. Both armed factions have actively promoted hate speech and exploited ethnic, regional, and racial animosities to build constituencies and legitimise atrocities, eroding social cohesion across Sudanese society. In many instances, these hate speech campaigns have preceded military operations or have been used to build momentum and justification for the continuation of the conflict and continuous death and violence." (Page 74)