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...
Motivations for Sharing Misinformation: Study explores factors for sharing misinformation in six sub-Saharan African countries
In most African countries, “fake news,” politically motivated disinformation, and misinformation in the media were common occurrences before these became a preoccupation in the Global North. However, with a fast-growing population of mobile users, and the popularization of apps such as WhatsApp, misinformation has become much more pervasive across...
UCT’s Herman Wasserman leads global study on disinformation
Article by Carla Bernardo Professor Herman Wasserman from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Centre for Film and Media Studies (CFMS) will embark on an international study on the information disorder in the Global South, with funds of approximately R4.5 million from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The scoping study aims...
Cultural factors are behind disinformation pandemic: why this matters
To contain and mitigate the virus of misinformation needs multi-levelled, socio-cultural approaches. GettyImages Herman Wasserman, University of Cape Town The prevalence of disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic has prompted Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) to warn that: We’re not just fighting an epidemic;...
DisinfoAfrica’s Herman Wasserman addressed first WHO infodemiology conference
Professor Herman Wasserman one of the project leaders of DisninfoAfrica delivered a keynote address at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) first infodemiology conference. The 1st WHO Infodemiology Conference, as the name suggests, deals with the phenomenon of an ‘infodemic’. According to the WHO, an infodemic is an “overabundance of...
Resources on Fact Checking COVID-19-related Misinformation
Many African fact-checking organizations have been making sure that misinformation related to COVID-19 on social media does not go unchecked. There are several very useful resources that are regularly upated with examples of inaccurate or false posts circulating on social media. Here is a rolling list of some of...
Researchers at Cardiff University find that people in the UK can spot fake news on COVID-19
Researchers at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture have found that the UK public can spot fake news about COVID-19, but but don’t realise the UK’s death toll is far higher than in many other countries. In a small-scale, exploratory study, Stephen Cushion, Nikki Soo, Maria Kyriakidou...