Global South collaborate to resist ‘information disorder’

SOUTH AFRICA

A grant of CA$1.6 million (US$1.15 million) has been awarded to the Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (CINIA), based at Stellenbosch University (SU) in South Africa, to spearhead cross-regional collaborations tackling mis- and disinformation and other harmful digital content on digital platforms.

This initiative is led by Professor Herman Wasserman, director of CINIA, chair of journalism at SU, and an A-rated researcher by South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) recognised as an international leader in his field.

University World News (UWN) spoke to him about the project.

UWN: Firstly, tell me more about CINIA.

HW: The Centre for Information Integrity in Africa was established within SU’s department of journalism in 2024. Our aim is to safeguard democratic values and societal trust across the continent through research, interdisciplinary collaboration and public engagement.

We conduct cutting-edge research on Africa’s unique information landscape, support investigative journalism, produce public-facing content such as podcasts, and develop training workshops to build public capacity in fact-checking, media literacy and ethical media consumption.

UWN: What has CINIA achieved so far?

HW: Although the centre is still young, we have already launched major initiatives. In July, we hosted a first-of-its-kind summit on information integrity in Africa, bringing together more than 40 fact-checkers, journalists, policy advocates and industry players.

The summit looked at cyber security, artificial intelligence, digital literacy, investigative journalism and countermeasures against misleading information, online hate and technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

The event also featured the launch of a new book I co-edited with Professor Sahana Udupa of LMU Munich, WhatsApp in the World. It highlights the global challenges posed by encrypted messaging platforms and how they amplify both disinformation and free speech. This shows our commitment to creating spaces where diverse stakeholders can collaborate on solutions.

UWN: What is the focus of the new project?

HW: The project will strengthen information integrity in the Global South by fostering multidisciplinary and cross-regional collaboration among a wide range of project teams working with the funder on issues such as disinformation, media literacy, technology-facilitated gender-based violence (or TGBV), and generative artificial intelligence.

We will bring together researchers, practitioners and activists from Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and Asia.

UWN: Who is the funder?

HW: Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). They will support a three-year programme to facilitate partnerships and collaborative projects across different regions in the Global South.

UWN: This grant bucks the trend of reductions in international research funding from the Global North. Why do you think Canada decided to back this initiative?

HW: The IDRC has a long history of supporting critical, independent work in the Global South. Most of the research in the field of information integrity still focuses on the Global North, while a confluence of factors such as long histories of inequality and social polarisation, weak independent media and democratic backsliding in the Global South makes it imperative to focus on this region.

UWN: Why is there such urgency around information integrity now?

HW: What is becoming known as the ‘information disorder’ is now commonplace. The deluge of information can be overwhelming, often creating a sense among media users that they cannot distinguish between true or false information any more.

And it’s not only false information that is the problem – hateful and discriminatory content is also distributed at great speed and scale, often reinforcing political, religious and ethnic polarisation, fostering declining trust in independent media, and fuelling gender-based harassment and discrimination.

UWN: How are these new developments shaping the information ecosystem?

HW: Disruptive technologies are proliferating while platform regulation and accountability are weakening. Safety standards, content moderation and fact-checking are being scaled back. Social media platforms have become fertile ground for promoting prejudice and opposing equality, diversity and inclusion.

The risks are compounded by dramatic political shifts, a sustainability crisis for journalism, and weakening global cooperation on internet governance.

UWN: Why is collaboration important?

HW: Efforts to confront threats to information integrity are often happening in isolated silos. This restricts comprehensive solutions and reduces the likelihood of success.

To combat the spread of misinformation, violence and harassment, cross-regional and cross-sectoral approaches are critically needed. This will help create an online public sphere that supports information integrity and safeguards democracy, social cohesion and safety.

UWN: How do you see this project influencing debates on platform accountability, freedom of expression and digital governance?

HW: Our project will explicitly aim at conducting research that can inform policy, and we hope to develop policy recommendations that can achieve greater accountability among big tech platforms.

UWN: What role can higher education play in this work – especially in building capacity for media literacy and journalism?

HW: Given that the threats to information integrity affect everyone, from the quality of information about world events, the economy, climate and health, to everyday disinformation such as scams, it is not a discipline-specific field.

Efforts to introduce media and misinformation literacy should, therefore, be extended beyond media studies and journalism and be integrated in curricula more broadly. Higher education institutions can contribute to developing critical, empowered digital citizens in this way.

UWN: Does mis- and disinformation have implications for teaching and learning, as well as for research?

HW: Yes, information integrity should be a concern for all media users, not only those within a particular discipline. Moreover, the development of large-language models such as ChatGPT pose both risks and opportunities for higher education, and will prompt us to think boldly and creatively about how to adapt our teaching and learning practices to avoid the risks and harness the opportunities.

UWN: What are the next steps for this project?

HW: We are planning a first meeting for the whole cohort of projects in the network for January 2026 in Stellenbosch, where we will collaboratively develop research questions, design methodology and map outcomes for the project.

The project will be run in a participatory fashion, and I look forward to exchanging ideas with colleagues from around the world to make this a success for the Global South and beyond.

UWN: You worked as a journalist before starting an academic career. Do you think that experience has been helpful in identifying the challenges the project is tackling and in developing possible solutions?

HW: Although my time as a journalist was quite some years ago, that background still helps me to understand the environment within which journalists operate – their normative positions and occupational ideologies. We also make a point of staying connected to journalists and journalism organisations to gain direct insight into the pressures they work under and the challenges they face.