AI & 2024 Election Disinformation
Election-related mis- and disinformation content took many forms on social media and messaging platforms ahead of and around the presidential and parliamentary elections of November 2024. AI-generated content formed an important part of disinformation campaigns in these spaces throughout the year
Disinformation & Foreign Influence
The electoral landscape was alive with claims, suspicions and speculation that foreign interests were meddling or attempting to do so, on behalf of local political actors, in the presidential and parliamentary elections of November 2024. Was there any truth to such perceptions and claims and is there something to be concerned about for the future?
Poor Journalism Fuels Election Disinformation
Poor reporting and media mistakes contributed to the spread of false information by amplifying smear campaigns and participating in narrative laundering in the run-up to and beyond the November 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections in Namibia.
Political Smear Campaigns
Political smear campaigns were deployed online ahead of the November 2024 elections. These campaigns were aimed at undermining the reputations, credibility and trust in particular candidates, parties and entities, including the electoral management body and the elections as a whole.
Abuse of Social Media & The 2024 Elections
Social media has become important for political communication and messaging, especially during electoral periods. However, often political actors (politicians and parties) use social media to engage in negative campaigning, by employing smears and spreading fake news or to intimidate and incite. This bulletin looks at how Namibian political actors, including politically connected or associated interests […]
Countering Election Disinformation
An overview of mis- and disinformation that affected Namibia’s 2024 national elections. The report is accompanied by five issue-specific bulletins that examine:
Countering the Disinfodemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread from its initial epicentre in China at the end of December 2019, so too did a rising tide of disinformation. Some of this disinformation, known as a ‘disinfodemic’, has undermined the effectiveness of health responses to the pandemic. This new briefing looks at what can be done to stem the […]
Tracking Disinformation
This briefing paper analyses the disinformation trends around the November 2019 election and calls for greater civic education on the dangers of spreading false information especially on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.
Fake News & Namibian Elections
‘Fake news’ –misinformation, disinformation and propaganda – is very much a reality in Namibian political and electoral processes. Various social media platforms have become the preferred battlegrounds on which disturbing, divisive and even dangerous campaigns and content are being shared. This report describes what ‘fake news’ on Namibian social media looks like and where it […]
