Media literacy education in South Africa can help combat fake news – here’s what’s needed
Online platforms are replete with examples of false information – from WhatsApp messages punting some miraculous cure for COVID, to social media posts claiming a politician said something they didn’t. It’s increasingly common in South Africa. More than 75% of South Africans say they regularly come across political news they think...
An Assessment of Media Literacy and Fact-Checking Training Needs in South African Schools and Universities
This new report co-authored by Herman Wasserman and Dani Madrid-Morales aims to identify knowledge and skills gaps related to teaching about misinformation through a needs assessment of educators in South Africa. The aim is to assist the development of media and information literacy materials that can be used in...
Dani Madrid-Morales presents on Recentering Disinformation Studies at City University of London
On the 5th of April Dani Madrid-Morales presented on Re-centering Disinformation Studies at City University of London. Madrid-Morales presented alongside panelists Dr Lindsey Bluebell, Dr Mel Bunce, Dr Zahera Harb and Dr Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar. In addition to discussing the importance of ‘de-westernising’ disinformation studies, Madrid-Morales introduced his new...
Who is Responsible for Stopping the Spread of Misinformation? Examining Audience Perceptions of Responsibilities and Responses in Six Sub-Saharan African Countries
This past week at the International Communication Association conference in Paris, Herman Wasserman and Dani-Madrid Morales discussed their latest paper co-authored alongside Melissa Tully, Gregory Gondwe and Kioko Ireri, Who is Responsible for Stopping the Spread of Misinformation? Examining Audience Perceptions of Responsibilities and Responses in Six Sub-Saharan African...
Herman Wasserman and Dani Madrid-Morales present at ICA conference
Herman Wasserman and Dani Madrid-Morales presented research from their book Disinformation in the Global South at the annual conference of the International Communication Association, which took place in Paris in May....
Information disorder: Report harnesses Global South responses
Information disorder threatens media freedom and democracies across the globe. In the Global South, multi-level responses are needed to counter its spread, said Professor Herman Wasserman, the editor of the recently released “Meeting the Challenges of Information Disorder in the Global South” report. He is based in the University...
Novel study reveals efforts in the Global South to counter the information disorder
From teams of independent fact-checkers in Latin America, to policy makers in Africa and the Middle East, to media education specialists in Asia, organizations and movements in lower- and middle-income countries are rising to combat the problem of so-called “fake news.” Meeting the Challenges of Information Disorder in the...
Herman Wasserman to hold lecture on Information Disorder at University of Houston
Herman Wasserman will be holding a lecture on information disorder at the Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston. The event will be both in-person and streamed online, live stream tickets are available online. The event details are as follows: Event Name: Information Disorder: Perspectives from the Global...
Disinformation in The Global South: New book by Herman Wasserman and Dani Madrid-Morales
Media and communication scholars Herman Wasserman and Dani Madrid-Morales to release a new book on disinformation in the global south. Through case studies and comparative analyses, this book explores the impact of disinformation in Africa, Latin America, the Arab World and Asia. Wasserman and Madrid-Morales provide a diverse...
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...