"The closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has had far-reaching effects across a range of humanitarian and development activities. This report examines the current and likely future effects of the agency’s closure on journalism in Africa. It has a particular focus on repor ... ting in authoritarian contexts and on the case of South Sudan as one of the major historical recipients of USAID-funded media assistance. The report argues that the short-term implications for the operation of funding-dependent newsrooms have been catastrophic. Evidence suggests that alternative funders are unwilling or unable to fill the financial gap that USAID has left behind and that we are seeing an increasing degradation in the capacity both of newsrooms and of the broader civil society ecosystems that protected their work. The likely longer-term effects include increasing risks of state pressure on journalistic autonomy, increasing commercial rather than public service reporting and the juniorisation and deprofessionalisation of newsrooms." (Abstract) more

"[...] in recent years – particularly since the 2014 Ukraine conflict – Russia’s use of media to leverage broader influence campaigns has gained notoriety, both domestically and internationally. Russia’s state-owned media outlets are central to the Kremlin’s strategy and are drivers of its ... soft power in Africa. Services like Sputnik and RT (formerly Russia Today) find resonance among African editors. Building on anti-imperialist credentials and positioning itself as an alternative news source, state-owned media is able to provide a more balanced image of Russia in Africa, while combatting Western narratives. The Kremlin has successfully adapted to the digital age, broadening its operations to include online news sites in several languages. African news websites are, in turn, republishing content from Kremlin-sponsored media on a large scale. The narratives are amplified far beyond their original source, the main message being that Moscow is ready to engage with Africa on mutually beneficial terms. Influence-building using social media is another key aspect of Russia’s media strategy in Africa. It is used to sow doubt and build trust in alternative news sources. And, Russian networks are increasingly working with local actors in African countries to better disguise their activities. Interestingly, much of the content being shared on social media by Russian networks is not ‘fake news’, but in most cases is hyper-partisan and polarising." (Abstract) more