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Tackling Disinformation, Information Manipulation and Interference in Four African Elections
Deep Insights

Dani Madrid-Morales, Herman Wasserman, Nicola Davies-Laubscher, Fatoumata Sow

Mapping Electoral Disinformation inAfrica (MEDiA); Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (CIIA); Stellenbosch University (2025), 58 pp.

"In recent years, electoral disinformation has followed several recurring patterns globally, many of which were observed in the case studies analysed in this report. One prominent tactic is attacks on electoral integrity, where political actors spread false claims about voter registration, election ... rigging, or external interference to delegitimise outcomes. As we show in this report, in the DRC, for example, rumours circulated that biometric voter registration was designed to expose individuals’ HIV status, discouraging participation. In South Africa, disinformation networks falsely claimed that the Electoral Commission (IEC) was manipulating results to favour the ruling party, fueling distrust in the electoral process. Another trend is the weaponisation of ethnic and gendered disinformation. In Kenya, misleading narratives framed certain candidates as “foreign-sponsored outsiders” to undermine their legitimacy, while in Senegal, false claims about morality were used to discredit opposition figures. Meanwhile, gendered disinformation—targeting women candidates with sexist tropes and false accusations—was a recurring feature in all four countries, reflecting a broader global pattern in which women in politics are disproportionately subjected to online abuse and misinformation. Social media platforms have been central to the spread of electoral disinformation. Across Africa, as in much of the world, platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) have served as primary vehicles for the rapid dissemination of falsehoods, often facilitated by coordinated inauthentic behaviour. Data that we present in the report shows that, in South Africa, paid “nano-influencers”—individuals with small but loyal online followings—were mobilised to amplify misleading narratives in favour of specific political actors, demonstrating how disinformation strategies are evolving in response to changing digital landscapes. [...] In response to these findings, the report makes several key recommendations. First, it calls for greater cross-platform coordination among CSOs, fact-checking groups, and election monitors to ensure realtime responses to emerging disinformation threats. Second, it highlights the importance of media and digital literacy programmes among all age groups, including young voters, some of whom are often the most active on social media but may lack the skills to critically assess the credibility of information they encounter. Third, it urges greater transparency and accountability from technology platforms, which remain the primary distribution channels for electoral disinformation but have done little to curb its spread in African electoral contexts. Ultimately, electoral disinformation is not simply a digital challenge—it is a fundamental governance issue that shapes public perceptions of legitimacy and democratic participation. Evidence from the four elections in Africa that we examine in this report demonstrates that countering disinformation requires a multi-stakeholder approach that includes journalists, civil society actors, election commissions, and policymakers working collaboratively to strengthen information integrity and electoral transparency. The findings in this report offer both a diagnosis of the current disinformation landscape and a framework for more effective, evidence-based responses that can help safeguard future elections from manipulation." (Pages 9-10) more

Encrypted Messaging and Extreme Speech: Policy Directions

Anmol Alphonso, Sérgio Barbosa, Cayley Clifford, Kiran Garimella, Elonnai Hickok, Martin Riedl, Erkan Saka, Herman Wasserman, Sahana Udupa

Munich: Ludwig-Maximilian Universität (LMU); Center for Digital Dignity (2025), 58 pp.

"The report highlights interventions in six main categories, namely: Platform governance; Mitigating digital influence operations; Supporting research; Strengthening fact-checking; Awareness raising and capacity building; Leveraging artificial intelligence responsibly. The recommendations highlight ... more

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WhatsApp in the World: Disinformation, Encryption, and Extreme Speech
Deep Insights

Sahana Udupa, Herman Wasserman (eds.)

New York: New York University Press (2025), vii, 375 pp.

"Known by the popular nickname “ZapZap” in Brazil and synonymous with the Internet across Africa and South Asia, WhatsApp has emerged as a major means of communication for millions of people around the world. Unlike social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, WhatsApp offers a closed, e ... more

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Happiness in Journalism as a Public Good

Herman Wasserman

In: Happiness in Journalism

Valérie Bélair-Gagnon, Avery E. Holton, Mark Deuze, Claudia Mellado (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), pp. 190-192

"This chapter argues that research and teaching on happiness in journalism should be considered important areas to focus on to improve journalism as a public good." (Abstract)

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How Effective Are Chinese Media in Shaping Audiences’ Attitudes Towards China? A Survey Analysis in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa

Dani Madrid-Morales, Herman Wasserman

Online Media and Global Communication, volume 1, issue 4 (2022), pp. 671-696

"This paper measures how often audiences in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa consume Chinese media, and investigates whether a positive relationship exists between the consumption of English language Chinese media and attitudes towards China. Method: We analyze three waves of survey data collected in ... more

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Disinformation in the Global South
Deep Insights

Herman Wasserman, Dani Madrid-Morales (eds.)

Guy Berger (foreword)

Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell (2022), xxv, 237 pp.

"In many parts of the Global South, coordinated political disinformation campaigns, rumor, and propaganda have long been a part of the social fabric, even before disinformation has become an area of scholarship in the Global North. The way disinformation manifests in this region, and responses to it ... more

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Meeting the Challenges of Information Disorder in the Global South
Deep Insights

Herman Wasserman (ed.)

Rondebosch: University of Cape Town, Centre for Film and Media Studies; International Development Research Centre (IDRC) (2022), 256 pp.

"Despite information disorder being a widespread problem in countries in the Global South, the study of this phenomenon remains dominated by examples, case studies, and models from the Global North. Knowledge about the various manifestations of information disorder, the range of responses, and the s ... more

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Motivations for Sharing Misinformation: A Comparative Study in Six Sub-Saharan African Countries

Dani Madrid-Morales, Herman Wasserman, Gregory Gondwe et al.

International Journal of Communication, volume 15 (2021), pp. 1200-1219

"In most African countries, “fake news,” politically motivated disinformation, and misinformation in the media were common occurrences before these became a preoccupation in the Global North. However, with a fast-growing population of mobile users, and the popularization of apps such as WhatsApp ... more

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The Ethics of Engagement: Media, Conflict and Democracy in Africa

Herman Wasserman

New York: Oxford University Press (2021), 216 pp.

"This book discusses the relationship between media, conflict and democratisation in Africa from the perspective of media ethics. Despite the commonly held view that conflict is a destructive political force that can destabilize democracies, the argument in this book is that while many conflicts can ... more

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The Untapped Potential of Regional Cooperation for Media Reform in Southern Africa

Herman Wasserman

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2021), 32 pp.

"The 1991 adoption of the Windhoek Declaration in Namibia ushered in a continent-wide commitment to supporting independent media in Africa. Despite initial progress, including the establishment of the regional Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA), independent media in the region continues to s ... more

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Training Needs Assessment for Namibian Journalists

Christiaan Keulder, Herman Wasserman

Namibia Media Trust (2020), 34 pp.

"1. The survey indicated no significant differences between what journalists and managers considered important skills. Respondents from both groups indicated that formal journalism training was not adequate to the demands of the contemporary, digitized workplace. Training in digital skills can there ... fore be considered a priority area. 2. Further findings however indicated a continued strong emphasis on core journalistic skills such as the ability to exercise journalistic editorial judgement, contextualise stories in ways that make sense to audiences within their contexts and practicing ethical journalism . This finding suggests that future training should not focus exclusively on practical, digital skills but also provide opportunities for journalists to deepen their core skills. This was to a large extent supported by data from the focus groups, where media managers and consumers suggested a combination of new multimedia practical skills with more established journalistic values, especially given the rise of misinformation, which gives journalists the opportunity to set themselves apart from unverified content on the internet. 3. Responses did not suggest a strong need for specialized training in ‘beat’ journalism such as financial journalism. This could be explained by the fact that media convergence across platforms continues apace and the need for general digital skills was seen as more pressing, or that media institutions are under severe financial pressure with dwindling resources, which does not allow for a significant investment in highly specialized reporters. 4. There is a strong need to find alternative sources of revenue for an industry under pressure. The respondents suggested that such sources may take the form of outsourcing certain skills to media consumers, collaborating with consumers or pooling journalistic resources. There might therefore be an increasing need for training that could equip journalists with entrepreneurial, marketing and branding skills. 5. Managerial skills is an important aspect to consider for upskilling journalists entering management. A mentoring scheme could be considered to fulfil this need. 6. Given time and cost considerations, there is scope for experimenting with training formats that do not require full-time attendance, so that journalists can balance training with their work obligations. This could take the form of evening classes, online classes or weekend sessions. 7. Internships for media students could provide practical, on-the-job training at relatively low cost and would fill the need identified by media and journalism students to complement their theoretical curriculum with more practical skills training." (Recommendations) more

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Media, Communication and the Struggle for Democratic Change: Case Studies on Contested Transitions

Katrin Voltmer, Christian Christensen, Irene Neverla, Nicole Stremlau, Barbara Thomass, Nebojsa Vladisavljevic, Herman Wasserman (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2019), xvii, 305 pp.

"This book investigates the role of media and communication in processes of democratization in different political and cultural contexts. Struggles for democratic change are periods of intense contest over the transformation of citizenship and the reconfiguration of political power. These democratiz ... more

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How Influential are Chinese Media in Africa? An Audience Analysis in Kenya and South Africa

Herman Wasserman, Dani Madrid-Morales

International Journal of Communication, volume 12 (2018), pp. 2212-2231

"The increased presence of Chinese media in Africa has been the focus of much debate since the early 2010s. Discussions tend to revolve around issues of production and content, providing little evidence on the way audiences decode media messages aimed at extending China’s “soft power.” This ar ... more

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Journalism and Foreign Aid in Africa

Chris Paterson, Audrey Gadzekpo, Herman Wasserman

African Journalism Studies, volume 39, issue 2 (2018), pp. 1-7

"The authors briefly survey the contemporary and complex relationship between aid and journalism and the role of foreign aid/development assistance in shaping African media systems. A call is made for greater research into the aid and journalism relationship and the impact these processes have on fo ... more

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How Influential Are Chinese Media in Africa? An Audience Analysis in Kenya and South Africa

Herman Wasserman, Dani Madrid-Morales

International Journal of Communication, volume 12 (2018), pp. 2212-2231

"This article uses data from seven focus groups with media and communication university students in Kenya and South Africa to explore the efficacy of Chinese-mediated public diplomacy. We show that Chinese media have little impact on students’ information habits, demonstrate that attitudes toward ... more

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Media, Geopolitics, and Power: A View from the Global South

Herman Wasserman

Urbana: University of Illinois Press (2018), xvi, 217 pp.

"The end of apartheid brought South Africa into the global media environment. Outside companies invested in the nation's newspapers while South African conglomerates pursued lucrative tech ventures and communication markets around the world. Many observers viewed the rapid development of South Afric ... more

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Chinese Media Engagement in South Africa

Dani Madrid-Morales, Herman Wasserman

Journalism Studies, volume 19, issue 8 (2018), pp. 1218-1235

"China’s footprint in Africa’s media sector over the last decade has reached dimensions that make it impossible to go unnoticed. In South Africa, one of the countries where this imprint is most diversified, Chinese media have been engaged in a varied range of activities, including content produc ... more

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Questioning the Media-Democracy Link: South African Journalists’ Views

Wallace Chuma, Herman Wasserman, Tanja Bosch, Rebecca Pointer

African Journalism Studies, volume 38, issue 1 (2017), pp. 104-128

"It is often assumed that a robust, free and independent media will contribute to the deepening of democracy by keeping governments accountable and broadening citizen participation in deliberative democratic debates. But in new democracies such as South Africa, the deepening and broadening of democr ... more

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Media and Citizenship: Between Marginalisation and Participation

Anthea Garman, Herman Wasserman (eds.)

Cape Town, South Africa: HSRC Press (2017), xi, 241 pp.

"Media and Citizenship challenges some assumptions about the relationship between the media and democracy in highly unequal societies like South Africa. In a post-apartheid society where an enfranchised majority is still unable to fundamentally practise their citizenship and experiences marginalisat ... more

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Pathways to Media Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa: Reflections from a Regional Consultation
Deep Insights

Herman Wasserman, Nicholas Benequista

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2017), 25 pp.

"To ensure that African media organizations remain viable players in this changing political and economic landscape, new coalitions need to be built and existing ones strengthened. The existing coalitions in the region display certain weaknesses: they tend to be unevenly spread across the region and ... more

Tackling Disinformation, Information Manipulation and Interference in Four African Elections Deep Insights

WhatsApp in the World: Disinformation, Encryption, and Extreme Speech Deep Insights

Disinformation in the Global South Deep Insights

Meeting the Challenges of Information Disorder in the Global South Deep Insights

Pathways to Media Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa: Reflections from a Regional Consultation Deep Insights

Tackling Disinformation, Information Manipulation and Interference in Four African Elections
Deep Insights

WhatsApp in the World: Disinformation, Encryption, and Extreme Speech
Deep Insights

Disinformation in the Global South
Deep Insights

Meeting the Challenges of Information Disorder in the Global South
Deep Insights

Pathways to Media Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa: Reflections from a Regional Consultation
Deep Insights