South African government’s handling of COVID-19: study shows declining trust
Some of the first South African COVID-19 vaccine trial volunteers at the Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, in 2020. EPA-EFE/Siphiwe Sibeko (Pool) Herman Wasserman, University of Cape Town and Dani Madrid-Morales, University of Houston The public has been overwhelmed by a surge in misleading and false information during the COVID-19...
Working Paper: Trust in Institutions, COVID-19 Related Information Seeking and Vaccination Messaging in South Africa
Data for this study was collected between May 24 and June 5, 2021. Facebook and Instagram users located in South Africa were invited to participate via paid advertisements. The study consists of two parts. First, we surveyed 1,585 South Africans to understand their general attitudes towards COVID-19, as well...
Herman Wasserman Presents on Emerging Trends and Impacts of Disinformation in Africa to UNDP
Herman Wasserman recently gave a presentation on “Emerging Trends and impacts of Disinformation in Africa” to the Oslo Governance United Nations Development Programme. The presentation provided a general overview of the issue of disinformation in the region, trends emerging from his and Dani Madrid-Morales’ research and possible interventions to counter...
Social media users in Kenya and South Africa trust science, but still share COVID-19 hoaxes
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread disinformationcirculating on social media globally. This includes false information about the virus, its origins and possible cures for the disease it causes. Much of the inaccurate information was related to China, the country where the first cases of an atypical pneumonia were...
Herman Wasserman to Present at Countering Vaccine Hesitancy Conference
Herman Wasserman will give a presentation on how to tackle disinformation around Covid-19 vaccines to an international meeting of Academies of Science. The conference, ‘‘Countering Vaccine Hesitancy’, is hosted by the Interacademy Partnership and will highlight how academies – as trusted and credible voices – can counter vaccine hesitancy,...
Wasserman and Madrid-Morales present research at the Centre for the Study of Contemporary China, University of Pennsylvania
Herman Wasserman and Dani Madrid-Morales will present their paper “What Motivates the Sharing of Misinformation about China and Covid-19? A Study of Social Media Users in Kenya and South Africa” at the international conference “Narratives of COVID-19 in China and the World: Technology, Society, and Nations” hosted by the...
WHO launches the African Infodemic Response Alliance
The World Health Organization’s Regional Office in Africa joined forces with intergovernmental and governmental organisations, as well as non-state actors across the continent to launch AIRA, to respond to infodemic threats at regional and country levels. Regional activities are critically important for effective infodemic management, and AIRA is an...
Interview with Mark Deuze: Herman Wasserman on The Ethics of Listening
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Public trust in the media is at a new low: a radical rethink of journalism is needed
A recent report by an independent panel on the ethics and credibility of South Africa’s news media makes for worrying reading. The panel, headed by retired judge Kathy Satchwell, was commissioned by the South African National Editors’ Forum following a series of ethical lapses by the Sunday Times. The...
Meet the UCT prof fighting fake news on the global frontline
Herman Wasserman is a hunter, but not the sort that carries a rifle. Wasserman has become one of Africa’s foremost fake news hunters. In the age of disinformation, his experience and ethics are increasingly sought after on the continent and beyond. A University of Cape Town professor, with laser-beam...