Amid mounting disinformation, who decides what is true as Africa's fight against fake news tests free speech?

Efforts to counter false claims

From Ghana to Mozambique, work against fake news is gaining momentum. The challenge is especially pressing before elections, when misleading WhatsApp messages, altered TikTok videos and false Facebook alerts can confuse the public.

Artificial intelligence is making it easier to manipulate images, voices and videos. Journalism lecturer Dani Madrid-Morales of the University of Sheffield told DW that few, if any, countries are doing a good job of limiting fake news, while civil society groups in several countries are working to inform people.

Civil society work and limits

In South Africa, Africa Check and Media Monitoring Africa cooperate to draw attention to fake news and elections. Similar coalitions operate in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal.

These efforts often concentrate on election periods. Outside those cycles, they commonly lack funding and continued engagement with civil society, limiting their ability to sustain their work.

Government action and speech

Madrid-Morales identifies scams, foreign influence operations and political disinformation originating within a country as three different challenges. He says governments often focus most on the third category, particularly in the Sahel.

In Burkina Faso and Mali, military governments have closed media outlets, prosecuted journalists and expelled foreign correspondents. Madrid-Morales says these authorities are chiefly concerned with stopping negative or false information about themselves from spreading, raising concerns about free speech.

Foreign influence and public views

Afrobarometer examined how international actors are viewed across Africa. More than 60% of respondents saw China's political and economic influence positively, compared with 52% for the United States; both countries are pursuing economic gains and infrastructure projects on the continent.

Views of former colonial powers differed. In French-speaking countries, 34% viewed France's continuing influence positively. Afrobarometer's Komi Amewonou told DW that such views do not necessarily result from targeted propaganda, but may reflect African governments allowing negative perceptions to continue.

Education beyond election seasons

Some media development projects aim to help people assess information and think independently. In Ghana, the NGO Penplusbytes runs the Caravan of Hope project. The initiative is supported by German development agency GIZ and DW Akademie. Its example illustrates efforts to build public awareness, alongside the broader debate over how to counter disinformation without restricting speech.