With over 19 African countries undergoing elections in the year 2024, countries like Algeria, Bostwana, Chad, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Comoros, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Namibia, Rwanda, Somaliland, South Sudan, Tunisia are geared for elections. Elections have been reported to offer prime opportunities for disinformation across Africa, and they are largely volatile and tense. There have been reports of increasing cases of widespread disinformation during elections, with Nigeria’s 2023 elections and Senegal’s current election situation being good examples.
Organisations such as Pollicy, CIPESA, KICTANet, Article 19, Her Internet, WITNESS have been working on disinformation in the region focusing the trends, manifestation, impact, fact checking mechanism and existing legal frameworks. However, there are still gaps in the understanding of the intersectionality of gendered disinformation and elections in broader engagements, research, capacity building spaces in the region. Gender disinformation is a barrier to women’s participation in politics and a deterring factor to young women who consider having a political career, it threatens democracy as it puts women who have interest in politics, elections and governance at risk.
The Association for Progressive Communications understands disinformation as a multifaceted, global and complex issue that must be understood as a symptom of much broader information disorders. Disinformation causes confusion and has a chilling effect on freedom of expression and information. It directly impacts on the level of trust in the public sphere as a space for democratic deliberation. Hence, over the years, APC has put efforts in research, policy related and public awareness actions to address gender disinformation.
Pollicy under the VOTE: Women project is building data skills among women politicians with a goal to have more women voting, running and leading the countries and ensuring their digital resiliency despite the gendered disinformation faced by women politicians.
In this webinar, APC and Pollicy brings together regional experts, civil society, human rights defenders and researchers to hold a candid conversation on the status of gender disinformation in the region, the impact on women’s political participation and civic engagement, the legal and regulatory frameworks, what actions, tools and practices are in place to counter gender disinformation during elections.
