Fake news in Africa: In an age of disinformation, who decides what's true?

Misinformation poses a threat to democracy worldwide: An exaggerated WhatsApp message, a manipulated TikTok video or an apparent breaking news alert on Facebook can all misguide people in Africa and beyond — particularly in the run-up to elections.

As artificial intelligence is making it increasingly easy to manipulate images, voices and videos, more and more countries are trying to equip their populations with skills to identify and counter fake news.

But are these efforts really about raising awareness, or are certain governments using this fight to control public opinion, silence dissident voices and misguide the populace — from both within and outside of these respective nations?

Journalism lecturer Dani Madrid-Morales at the University of Sheffield believes that African governments must significantly step up their efforts to combat sources of disinformation and misinformation.

He told DW that "there are very few countries — if any — that are actually doing a good job" to beat the influence of fake news.

Meanwhile, he also points out that there also are civil society initiatives in various African nations which help inform people about the dangers of such false narratives.

For instance in South Africa, organizations like Africa Check and Media Monitoring Africa work together to highlight the impact of fake news on elections. Similar coalitions also exist in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Senegal.

However, these initiative mostly focus on fighting disinformation during election periods; the rest of the time, they typically lack funding and sustained engagement with civil society to continue to make a change.

There also are deliberate efforts by certain governments not to battle fake news; some let it happen while others engage in deliberately spreading this.

Madrid-Morales distinguishes between three types of disinformation within this context: There are scams and similar schemes, which some governments, he says, fail to sufficiently fight, leaving people susceptible to financial losses.

He adds that there also are certain foreign influence operations trying to impact public opinion from outside a country and, in many instances, outside of the continent.

Finally, there are political disinformation campaings which originate from within a country, he explains.

"Governments are particularly interested in the third category," says Madrid-Morales, adding that this is particularly prevalent in the Sahel region.

He highlights how in nations like Burkina Faso and Mali, military governments have shut down media outlets, prosecuted journalists and expelled foreign correspondents to silence free speech.

In his view, these junta governments are primarily concerned with preventing negative or false information about themselves from circulating.

Foreign powers meanwhile also appear to play a considerable role in shaping public opinion across the continent.

Afrobarometer, a pan-African research network, examined the influence of international actors in terms of their influence over the continent.

The study found that over 60% of respondents viewed China's political and economic influence positively; this was followed by 52% for the United States.

Both countries have no past colonial history in Africa, although they are now vying for economic gains while focusing on infrastructure projects — partly to maintain this largely benevolent perception.

However, perceptions of other former colonial powers varied notabbly depending on factors such as the impact of past injustices: For example, in French-speaking countries, only 34% of respondents viewed France's ongoing influence positively.

Komi Amewonou from Afrobarometer meanwhile told DW that such attitudes are not necessarily the result of targeted propaganda campaigns but rather of African governments letting negative perceptions simpy run their course.

In some countries, there are media development project trying to educate people and animate them to think for themselves.

Ghana, the NGO Penplusbytes runs the "Caravan of Hope" — a project supported German development agency GIZ and the by DW Akademie.

This mobile campaign brings media literacy training to rural communities through theater, role-playing exercises, public discussions and videos in local languages. The initiative has managed to reach 3,000 people in five districts to date.

The campaign also involves trusted community figures, as studies show that locals mostly trust people they know personally — particularly traditional village leaders and community representatives.

Rebecca Avusu from Penplusbytes, who helped develop the project, told DW that "information must be verified before people believe it or pass it on. This is particularly important for those without smartphones or with limited formal education."

Initiatives in South Africa take a similar approach: The country is home to Africa Check — one of the continent's best-known fact-checking initiatives.

The organization visits schools and teaches classes how to identify manipulated images, verify sources and deal with misinformation circulating in WhatsApp groups.

However, Madrid-Morales says that there can be a downside to such media literacy programs as well; pointing to research conducted in South Africa, he highlights that while some young people do become more discerning consumers of information, others eventually lose trust in almost every source, resulting in a complete lack of knowledge about important developments.

In other parts of the continent, there's greater resistance against such media literacy initiaves — chiefly by their own governments.

In 2026, the International Media and Information Literacy Institute (IMILI) was opened in the Nigerian capital Abuja under the auspices of UNESCO, with a mission is to promote research, training and international cooperation in media literacy initiatives.

The government has said that it aims to play a leading international role in Africa in the fight against fake news; however, civil rights groups say the state often blurs the line between genuinely battling disinformation and silencing public dissent in the country.

In Kenya, there are similar concerns: The Media Council of Kenya has the role of supporting journalists and fact-checking initiatives.

However, it's scope of operations is limited, as the organization abides by the country's laws to remain in operation — in particular legislation supposedly designed to target the spreading of false information.

Conversely, these laws have come under increased scrutiny, as they can also be abused the silence views against the government.

Madrid-Morales says that in such contexts, there need to be independent oversight bodies to ensure that people do not refrain from expressing themselves publicly for fear of reprisal.

Meanwhile in Mozambique, the media institute MISA has also launched a series of fact-checking initiatives such as MISACheck. The program is designed to train young journalists and social activists in fact-checking techniques.

Olivia Massango, the vice-president of MISA, says however that the efforts of such civil society groups may seem like a drop in the ocean.

Massango is particularly critical of how state authorities deal with misinformation: "When something becomes inconvenient, the government ... invokes public interest, but ultimately often ends up protecting only what suits it, or what it finds troubling," she told DW.

As an example, she cites an internet blackout justified on the grounds of protecting public safety.

"Combating disinformation must not mean criminalizing opinions, criticism or journalistic work," she warns.

More and more African nations meanwhile are turning to Europe in hopes of adopting mechanisms to fight fake news.

Morocco and Senegal are among the examples where proposed legislation is inspired by EU standards. Madrid-Morales however stresses that while following strong EU legislation in the battle against disinformation, there also need to be independent oversight and enforcement mechanisms to make them work.

In the cases of Senegal and Morocco, these are yet to be established.

Rebecca Avusu is also concerned about such efforts maintaining loopholes to suit governments is and as needed: "We do not want laws designed to combat disinformation to become instruments for silencing people who question government decisions or express legitimate opinions," Avusu warns.