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How civil society coalition-building affects information integrity during elections: evidence from four African countries

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

Information, Communication & Society (2026), 18 pp.

"This article examines how civil society actors promote information integrity during elections through coalition-building, drawing on evidence from four African countries (the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa) that held elections between 2022 and 2024. In these countrie ... more

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Bioweapons, Big Pharma and Simple Remedies: The Playbook of Health Disinformation and the Ebola Outbreak in the DRC and Uganda

Christopher Nehring, Hendrik Sittig

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), Media Programme Sub-Sahara Africa (2026), 10 pp.

"The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda has been accompanied by targeted health disinformation just hours after the WHO emergency declaration. Our report analyses the narratives, actors and dynamics of this information manipulation – from bioweapons claims an ... more

Mapping Information Environments for Marginalised Communities in Central and Eastern Africa

Minority Rights Group

Canal France International (CFI); Advancing Global Innovation and Learning Effectively to Build Resilience in Independent Media (AGILE) (2025), 50 pp.

"1. In rural areas, word of mouth is often the only information system that works: In the DRC, over 80% of media outlets are clustered in the capital Kinshasa, leaving vast rural areas effectively without coverage. Ethnic minority groups such as the Batwa and Bambuti rated the relevance of the infor ... mation they receive at 0.5 out of 3, considering it to be "never relevant”. In these communities, access to information depends less on digital innovation than on trusted local networks: local leaders, women’s groups, grassroots organisations. These systems re resilient, but they are not infallible - information shared informally can be incomplete, delayed, or distorted before it reaches its intended audience. AGILE will support more accessible and inclusive information by working with trusted local intermediaries, community networks, and communication channels that already form the backbone of information access for marginalised communities. 2. Radio is still the backbone of information access – and it is under threat: In Uganda, 87% of respondents reported having a working radio at home. In Zambia, around 60% of the population listens to radio daily. In the DRC, more than 4,000 radio stations serve communities across the country. In a region where digital access remains unequal, radio is not a legacy medium - it is the primary information lifeline for millions. But this ecosystem is now under severe pressure. Following the cut to US foreign aid in 2025, community radio stations, that relied primarily on this funding source, face an uncertain future. Where community radio disappears, so does the locally rooted, trusted voice that keeps misinformation in check and civic life alive. AGILE will work with community radios, local organisations, and trusted community networks to help information reach people in more accessible and relevant ways. 3. Language is the most underestimated barrier, and communities have a clear ask: When asked what would most improve the information they receive, communities across all four countries gave a consistent answer: Translate it into our languages, and simplify it. Language is the decisive and most consistently underestimated barrier to information access. Official communications, media broadcasts, and humanitarian messages are routinely produced in dominant administrative languages that large parts of the population do not fully understand. Even where people speak the dominant language, technical jargon and bureaucratic phrasing can produce near-total incomprehension. On average, marginalised community members report understanding the language used in information only “sometimes”. In the DRC, ethnic minorities rate their comprehension between “rarely” and “sometimes”. In Tanzania, Hadzabe and Akie communities whose languages are oral and rarely represented in any media, rate their comprehension at the bottom of the scale. In contrast, Zambia is the only country where ethnic minorities rated their language comprehension as "often" adequate, a direct result of community radio broadcasting in multiple local languages. Respondents described asking their school-going children to explain official broadcasts, or depending on religious leaders or NGO staff to interpret messages. As information passes through multiple intermediaries, it can be delayed, simplified, or distorted - sometimes significantly - before reaching the people who need it. AGILE will prioritise multilingual, audio-first, and simplified content production across all activities co-designed with community radios, women's groups, and disability organisations to ensure that the needs of different communities are better reflected. 4. When information doesn't reflect communities' realities, they stop trusting it - or stop receiving it altogether: Accuracy is necessary but not sufficient. Communities are more likely to engage with - and trust - information when it reflects their realities and responds to their everyday concerns. When it doesn't, they disengage. Women across all four countries described a consistent pattern: stories about gender issues may be factually correct, but they "fail to reflect women's lived realities, rendering them irrelevant”. In the DRC, women's comprehension of information is rated as “rarely” adequate - not because they cannot understand the language, but because the content does not speak to their lives. The pattern is even sharper for some ethnic minorities. Maasai respondents described appearing in the media “rarely on their own terms” - their way of life consistently framed as a problem to be solved, rather than a legitimate system with its own logic and history. Several communities reported being exposed to derogatory language and hate speech in the way they are described in media. For people with disabilities, the exclusion takes a different form: the near-total absence of accessible formats. Across all four countries, sign language, braille, and audio-adapted content remain the exception rather than the rule. Information that cannot be accessed cannot be trusted - or used. AGILE will work more closely with marginalised communities to ensure their perspectives, experiences, and ways of understanding information are reflected in media and communication efforts. 5. Inclusive reporting already exists but journalists still face major barriers: Across all four countries, many journalists and media professionals recognise the importance of more inclusive, community-focused reporting. The mapping found this awareness to be widespread - the gap is not one of knowledge or intent, but of resources and conditions. Putting inclusive reporting into practice remains difficult. Covering remote communities takes time and money that most newsrooms do not have. Editorial priorities favour urban, mainstream audiences. In Zambia, several journalists described stories about marginalised communities as regularly sidelined because they are considered “unprofitable”. In the DRC and Tanzania, political and legal pressures further narrow the space for sensitive reporting. The result is a gap between what journalists know needs to happen, and what the system allows them to do. AGILE will support media professionals, community radios, and local organisations to strengthen inclusive reporting practices, improve community engagement, and produce information that is more accessible, relevant, and responsive to the needs of marginalised communities." (https://cfi.fr/en/news/5-things-we-learned-about-access-information-underserved-communities-central-and-eastern-africa) more

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The World’s Most Neglected Displacement Crises 2024
Deep Insights

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) (2025), 31 pp.

"To reflect the neglect faced by both displaced people and their host countries, NRC (Norwegian Refugee Council) revised the report’s methodology this year to include refugee-hosting nations experiencing severe crises of their own. As a result, Iran, home to more than six million refugees, and Uga ... more

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Télévision et santé: Conditions de production des émissions télévisées de santé à Kinshasa

Mireille Lusiense Zena

Paris: L'Harmattan (2025), 138 pp.

"La production d’émissions de santé publique à la télévision à Kinshasa contribue à la sensibilisation, la diffusion et l’éducation de la population sur des thématiques et des informations sanitaires : les maladies transmissibles, la santé maternelle et infantile… Cependant, pour l� ... more

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Internet Shutdowns in Africa: Technology, Rights and Power
Deep Insights

Felicia Anthonio, Tony Roberts (eds.)

London: Zed Books; Bloomsbury Publishing (2025), xiv, 286 pp.

"This open access book provides ten in-depth case studies of state-sponsored internet shutdowns across all regions of Africa. In so doing, it offers the first-ever comparative analysis of how African states use internet shutdowns as tools to close civic space, suppress opposition, and maintain power ... more

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The African Book Industry: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities for Growth
Deep Insights

Paris: UNESCO (2025), 249 pp.

"Thanks to its outstanding literary talent and growing number of success stories, Africa’s book industry holds immense potential. Although the continent as a whole still relies heavily on imports and foreign publishing houses, it accounted for 5.4% of the global publishing market in 2023, generati ... more

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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

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Fractured pasts in Lake Kivu's borderlands: Conflicts, connections, and mobility in Central Africa

Gillian Mathys

Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press (2025), xviii, 378 pp.

"The Lake Kivu region, which borders Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has often been defined by scholars in terms of conflict, violence, and separation. In contrast, this innovative study explores histories of continuities and connections across the borderland. Gillian Mathys utilise ... more

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Global thematic evaluation of EU actions to counter disinformation and foreign interference and manipulation of information (FIMI). Contract N° 300109186, Final Report

Per Oesterlund, Vesna Salaj, Andrei Richter, Tanja Hafner Ademi, Jawad Wariaghli, Suzanne Moll Moll

European Commission; Particip (2025), 357 pp.

"This Global Thematic Evaluation of EU Actions to Counter Disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) assessed 45 Actions funded by the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) since 2021, with a combined budget of around €100 million. The portfolio covered Afri ... ca, Asia, Latin America, and the EU Neighbourhood and Enlargement regions, spanning media literacy, fact-checking, journalism support, and targeted counter-disinformation initiatives. The evaluation reviewed all Actions and analysed 12 in depth, combining desk research, surveys, interviews, and six field missions. Relevance: The Actions were broadly relevant to EU commitments on countering disinformation and FIMI, aligning with the IcSP/FPI mandate and the EEAS Stratcom agenda, and responding to the concrete needs of journalists, fact-checkers, and civil society in fragile contexts. Flexibility allowed rapid mobilisation, which was widely valued. However, strategic articulation was weak: many Actions remained stand-alone or implementer-driven, without clear embedding in a wider EU counter-FIMI strategy. The portfolio was largely reactive, drawing little on foresight capacities, and emerging themes such as gendered disinformation, climate/environmental narratives, digital security, or psychosocial support were rarely addressed systematically. Effectiveness: Most Actions were implemented as planned, despite serious disruptions, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine or weak digital infrastructure in some contexts. Outcomes, however, were uneven: ambitious objectives were often poorly matched with measurable indicators, making achievements difficult to evidence. Implementing Partners with local credibility and contextual expertise proved decisive, while those lacking local embeddedness delivered weaker or short-lived results. Innovations such as AI-driven tools demonstrated potential but struggled with uptake due to usability issues, lack of long-term financing models, and limited cooperation from social media platforms. Effectiveness was consistently higher where in-country engagement (for example through EU Delegations) and cooperation with the EEAS and other services successfully linked projects to EU policy efforts, ensuring stronger coordination. Efficiency: The IcSP/FPI instrument proved flexible and resilient, with most Actions delivered broadly on time and within budget, even in fragile and high-risk environments. A rapid budget review confirmed significant variation in cost distribution, ranging from highly cost-effective interventions to projects where management and overheads absorbed disproportionate resources. Variation is expected in a diverse portfolio, but the absence of common budgetary parameters constrained comparability and transparency. Efficiency was higher where Actions partnered with trusted local organisations, leveraged existing infrastructure, and were designed for scalability. At the same time, duplication occurred in some cases (e.g. overlapping AI initiatives), reflecting limited technical coordination. Digital security and GDPR compliance were also weakly addressed in several Actions handling sensitive data, raising risks and inefficiencies. EU Added Value: The EU’s added value was evident in its neutrality and legitimacy, enabling access in contexts where Member States faced political constraints. The rapid-response capacity of FPI was a distinct comparative advantage, with activities launched in weeks rather than months. The EU’s ability to operate at scale and across regions added weight and reach to counter-FIMI efforts. However, visibility of EU support was often low, with Delegations sometimes deliberately keeping a low profile in sensitive environments. Weak articulation of Team Europe further limited collective EU impact and visibility. Coherence: Cooperation with EEAS Stratcom and certain Commission DGs (INTPA, CONNECT, RTD) was constructive, providing continuity and complementarity. At Action level, collaboration between FPI, Delegations, and Implementing Partners generally worked well. Nonetheless, internal coherence remained a challenge: there was no common prioritisation framework, and lesson-sharing across Actions and regions was mostly informal and ad hoc. Coordination with Member States varied: in some countries, EUDs and national embassies worked closely together, while in others MS distanced themselves from sensitive projects. Team Europe approaches were therefore inconsistently applied, limiting collective visibility and strategic weight. Sustainability and impact: Sustainability was strongest where Actions were embedded in credible institutions, such as Strategic Communication Centres in Moldova and Ukraine. Stand-alone platforms and networks often collapsed once funding ended, unless informal peer-to-peer groups were deliberately nurtured. Training effects were fragile due to staff turnover and limited institutional uptake. Many platforms and dashboards lacked handover or financing models, leaving investments vulnerable. These gaps reflect the structural trade-off of a rapid-response instrument: immediacy and flexibility often take precedence over sustainability. At impact level, Actions delivered visible results at micro and meso levels (skills, peer learning, new tools), but systemic change in disinformation dynamics was neither realistic nor evidenced at current scale. Weak outcome-level monitoring further limited the ability to demonstrate incremental long-term effects." (Executive summary, page iv-v) more

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The Sustainability Imperative in Media Development: A Critical Analysis of a Self-Serving Myth

Michel Leroy

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2025), xxiv, 396 pp.

"This book critically examines how the media assistance and broader "development" sectors have appropriated the catch-all concept of sustainability, originally rooted in economic and environmental fields, to suit their agendas. Analysing 289 project evaluations conducted globally between 1999 and 20 ... more

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The World’s Most Neglected Displacement Crises 2023

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) (2024), 19 pp.

"All crises featured in this year’s report are protracted and have been affecting the lives of communities for years, sometimes even decades. The calamity in Sudan is a stark warning of what happens when neglect deepens and the world turns its back on a crisis. In 2023 Sudan plunged into devastati ... ng warfare, forcing over 10 million people to flee their homes and making Sudan the world’s largest internal displacement crisis. Despite the severity of the situation, the looming threat of famine and the immense needs, the country remains on this list, and the people of Sudan remain neglected. This year’s list represents a race to the bottom, with Burkina Faso maintaining its position as the world’s most neglected displacement crisis for the second year running. The country saw a record-breaking 707,000 new displacements and hundreds of thousands of people cut off from aid. Media coverage fell as access became more difficult for both journalists and humanitarian organisations. Meanwhile, the situation in the country worsened and needs rose at a rapid pace. Across the world, there was a record-breaking USD 32 billion shortfall in aid budgets, leaving 57 per cent of humanitarian needs unmet in 2023. The human cost of the growing funding gap is high, and it is life-shattering for millions across the world. Neglect has become so ingrained and normalised that the reality of this gap no longer elicits shock. In many of the countries on this list, the gap translates into people not having enough to eat, families fleeing over and over again in search of safety and resources, children unable to access education, and individuals losing their means of earning an income. The funding gap means humanitarian organisations struggling to reach those most in need, selective allocation of aid, and compounding crises. It means that when severe climate disasters hit, people will not be prepared to withstand potentially disastrous consequences. Neglect is also fuelling rising hunger levels across all countries on our 2023 list. Each country is now experiencing, or is predicted to experience, severe levels of hunger. Food insecurity is in turn compounded by cuts or suspension of humanitarian and development funding. Most of the countries are dealing with the effects of conflict both within and outside their borders. War in Sudan spills over into poverty-stricken Chad and South Sudan, while Cameroon grapples with mounting internal pressure amid a broader regional conflict. Protracted neglect has consequences that cross borders and create crises within crises. Society finds itself in a state of crisis fatigue. Travesty after travesty is splashed across news screens but distressing images no longer retain their shock value, and the page is simply swiped, flipped, or clicked away. Amidst this worrying desensitisation and the acceptance of record-breaking statistics from the world’s neglected displacement crises as the new normal, lies the danger of complacency. We must not give up hope and allow ourselves to become numbed by the ceaseless barrage of crises. We need a reboot of global compassion and a refocus on where needs are greatest." (Page 4) more

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Social media and mis/disinformation in electoral context in the DRC

Pierre N'sana, Patient Ligodi, Pierre Bahati Ndamwenge et al.

USAID; FHI 360; Internews (2024), 57 pp.

"This paper aimed to address some of the gaps in knowledge about the nature of mis/disinformation and hate speech in WhatsApp groups, as well as the mechanisms through which those messages are identified, perceived, and relayed by users. Through quantitative and qualitative study of activities in 15 ... more

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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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Communication et gestion de crise électorale en RD Congo: Analyse des stratégies de communication de la CENI durant le cycle électoral de 2023

Jean-Claude Unyuthowun Ubegiu

Revue Internationale du Chercheur, volume 5, issue 2 (2024), pp. 592-612

"En contexte d’élections hors pair comme en 2023 en RDC, on s’attendrait à une contestation populaire des résultats. Mais le contraire s’est avéré vrai. Comment expliquer ce paradoxe ? A travers une approche herméneutique, sous-tendue par la recherche documentaire et l’observation dire ... more

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Balobaki: La démocratie congolaise à l’heure des réseaux sociaux, des fake news et de la manipulation

Ange Kasongo Adihe

Colette Braeckman (préface)

Paris: L'Harmattan, Nouvelle édition revue et augmentée (2024), 210 pp.

"Écrit par une journaliste rompue aux nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication, ce livre tente de revisiter l’usage et l’appropriation des réseaux sociaux par les Congolais pendant les deux derniers cycles électoraux (2018 et 2023) en République Démocratique du Congo ... more

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Remembering Mass Atrocities: Perspectives on Memory Struggles and Cultural Representations in Africa

Mphathisi Ndlovu, Lungile Augustine Tshuma, Shepherd Mpofu (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2024), xvii, 303 pp.

"This book explores how popular cultural artifacts, literary texts, commemorative practices and other forms of remembrances are used to convey, transmit and contest memories of mass atrocities in the Global South. Some of these historical atrocities took place during the Cold war. As such, this book ... more

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Construction des identités des journalistes kinois dans le discours médiatique télévisuel: Analyse de l’émission de débat politique Club 50 de la chaîne Télé 50

Brunel Musinkete Mpongo

Kinshasa: Université Catholique du Congo, Master Thesis (2024), vi, 232 pp.

"[...] L’objectif de ce mémoire de DEA était de démontrer la manière dont les journalistes construisent leurs identités lorsqu’ils analysent l’actualité de la semaine sur le plateau de Télé 50. Nous avons considéré l’émission ayant fait objet d’analyse, de discours médiatique. ... more

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Doing Digital Migration Studies: Theories and Practices of the Everyday

Koen Leurs, Sandra Ponzanesi (eds.)

Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press (2024), 387 pp.

"Doing Digital Migration present a comprehensive entry point to the variety of theoretical debates, methodological interventions, political discussions and ethical debates around migrant forms of belonging as articulated through digital practices. Digital technologies impact upon everyday migrant li ... more

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Representing Gender-Based Violence: Global Perspectives

Caroline Williamson Sinalo, Nicoletta Mandolini (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2023), xvii 314 pp.

"This book focuses on the politics, ethics and stereotypical pitfalls of representational practices surrounding Gender-Based Violence (GBV) from a global perspective. The originality of the volume is linked to its cross-disciplinary perspective as the topic of representing GBV is analyzed across the ... more

The World’s Most Neglected Displacement Crises 2024 Deep Insights

Internet Shutdowns in Africa: Technology, Rights and Power Deep Insights

The African Book Industry: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities for Growth Deep Insights

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

The World’s Most Neglected Displacement Crises 2024
Deep Insights

Internet Shutdowns in Africa: Technology, Rights and Power
Deep Insights

The African Book Industry: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities for Growth
Deep Insights

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