In the digital age, misinformation flows as freely as water. Across continents, false narratives—whether about elections, public health or migration, threaten democratic foundations, public confidence and even human lives. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 identified misinformation as a principal global threat, warning that its ability to sow distrust and undermine institutions is becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Africa, where internet penetration has surged alongside social platform usage, stands at the intersection of this peril. With more than 600 million internet users and over 400 million active social media accounts, the continent’s information ecosystem has become fertile ground for manipulative campaigns.
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Between 2022 and 2024, documented disinformation campaigns in Africa nearly quadrupled from approximately 47 to 189 campaigns. Nearly 60 percent of those campaigns are backed by foreign state actors such as Russia, China, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. State sponsored networks use a web of tens of thousands of coordinated accounts to spread narratives designed to disrupt democratic processes, ignite communal tension or bolster authoritarian interests.
A 2024 study revealed that 84 percent of social media users in five African countries rely on platforms like Facebook as their primary news source. This combination of heavy dependence on social media and shrinking journalistic resilience is making Africa increasingly vulnerable to the disinformation economy.
Misinformation in Elections
As Ghana prepared for its December 2024 elections, flowery rhetoric wasn’t the only campaign tool, it was disinformation. A radio presenter broadcast false claims that elections would occur on two separate days, forcing police intervention after the lie spread rapidly.
The response was robust. Over 100 radio and television stations collaborated with the Ghana Fact Checking Coalition, a network including FactSpace West Africa, Dubawa and Fact Check Ghana to debunk rumours using artificial intelligence and media literacy campaigns.
In Nigeria’s 2023 general election, organisations such as FactCheckHub and CivicHive pioneered “prebunking” strategies, proactively debunking potential falsehoods before they gained traction. During the campaign, 127 claims were fact checked in real time, reducing electoral confusion. Ahead of the Ondo State governorship contest, another wave of disinformation was uncovered: geographic smears and entirely fabricated scandals aimed at suppressing voter turnout.
Kenya’s 2022 general election witnessed a surge of disinformation on TikTok, with over 130 videos viewed more than 4 million times contributing to ethnic violence concerns. Earlier, a 2017 survey showed that 90 percent of Kenyans had encountered false information during elections, but only a third felt confident discerning accurate information. In response, UNESCO teamed with local NGOs and technology platforms to train over 1,200 young people in media and information literacy, empowering them to navigate and correct misinformation.
Health Crises Fanned by Fiction
In public health, the stakes are equally high. During the COVID 19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, misinformation played a deadly role. A 2022 study involving 2,572 respondents across six countries found that 73 percent of social media users exhibited vaccine hesitancy, far higher than among TV viewers or newspaper readers. Conspiracy theories ranged from claims that vaccines caused infertility to suspicions of colonial-era mind control.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, mpox vaccine campaigns faced similar challenges. Conspiracies depicting vaccines as Western ploys for population control were widespread. Despite this, UNICEF surveys showed that 75 percent of the population expressed readiness to vaccinate, boosting the efforts of community-based fact-checking networks.
In Uganda’s 2022–23 Ebola outbreak, fabricated claims emerged that Ebola was false, that vaccines were harmful, or that burials were conducted to harvest organs. Such narratives not only risked public health but also deepened mistrust towards healthcare interventions.
Fact-Checking: The Quiet Revolution
Recognising the urgency of the disinformation crisis, global institutions have stepped in to support Africa’s response. In 2020, UNESCO, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other partners launched the Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA), a continent-wide initiative aimed at combating health-related misinformation.
Active in countries such as Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, and Zimbabwe, AIRA promotes local fact-checking, enhances media literacy, and drives proactive information campaigns. Building on this momentum, UNESCO facilitated the creation of the Federation of Southern Africa Journalists (FESAJ) in October 2024 to consolidate regional efforts. Journalists from nine countries were trained in ethical reporting, cross-border verification, and media literacy to counter the tide of false narratives.
Alongside these institutional efforts, independent fact-checking organisations such as Africa Check, DUBAWA, and Fact-Check Ghana continue to play a vital role. Africa Check, operating from several regional hubs with over 30 trained staff, secured major funding in 2021 specifically to tackle vaccine-related misinformation.
In Ghana, coordinated coalitions across more than 100 media outlets have been instrumental in disseminating accurate information to diverse, multilingual communities. These efforts reflect a growing commitment within civil society and media ecosystems to safeguard public discourse from the corrosive effects of disinformation.
Despite these advances, structural challenges persist. Analysis from the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies highlights a direct correlation between heightened disinformation activity and political instability, with conflict-affected nations averaging four to five coordinated campaigns each. Meanwhile, the withdrawal of professional fact-checking partnerships by major tech platforms, in favour of algorithm-driven “community notes,” has raised significant concern. Journalists and media professionals warn that this shift risks weakening local resilience, leaving online spaces increasingly vulnerable to manipulation by foreign disinformation actors.
Forging a Resilient Information Architecture
Empowering citizens remains foundational. UNESCO’s training programmes, such as the 1,200-strong Kenyan youth cohort or southern Africa’s FESAJ initiative enhance critical thinking and fact-checking capacity. A literate public is a bulwark against manipulation.
Major social networks must invest equitably across languages and regions. Evidence from Kenya shows algorithmic bias in non-English moderation undermines efforts. The decommissioning of professional fact-checking partnerships in Africa threatens stability unless platforms re-invest responsibly.
Africa needs robust yet rights-based regulations against digital disinformation. The success of AIRA reflects how international and regional collaboration can calibrate response to public health crises. Similarly, the operationalisation of media freedom laws and journalism protections across African Union member states would safeguard democratic integrity.
The disinformation economy thrives on distrust, opacity and algorithmic neglect.
Across Africa, elections are destabilised, health campaigns jeopardised, and communal harmony threatened. Yet an equally dynamic response is emerging, from collaborative alliances and professional fact-checkers to grassroots media literacy efforts.
To reclaim the information space, African governments, global platforms and international partners must sustain investment in local expertise, regulatory frameworks and digital infrastructure. It is only through a coordinated, data-led strategy that the continent can transform its digital frontier from a battleground of falsehood into a foundation for informed, democratic development.
