Critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s information systems have been charged to come together to curb the surge of disinformation in the country.
Dr. Mark Duerksen, the Strategic Communications Manager of Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) gave the charge at the Catalyzing African Defender Communities (CADC) workshop, which kicked off on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 in Lagos.
He said the training becomes important owing to the growing impact of disinformation campaigns on the African continent’s rapidly changing information systems.
The 4-day workshop aims at developing Nigerian counter-disinformation Defender Communities by building trust and training researchers, journalists, and practitioners with the skills required to identify, expose, and combat disinformation campaigns.
Working with Debunk, one of the leading organizations countering Russian disinformation campaigns since 2014, the workshop offers hands-on and collaborative training to develop skills, to expose, analyze and respond to disinformation networks targeting the African continent.
It will also include an overview of FIMI (Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference) and ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers) approaches to understand and counter disinformation; an orientation to the Fence and DISARM frameworks (open-source, master framework for fighting disinformation); and hands-on training in applying these frameworks through open source ‘OpenCTI’ research tools and analytic report writing.
“We are seeing examples of how fake news is being used to overwhelm fact-checkers. They’re flooded with so many false claims that it becomes nearly impossible to keep up. This tactic is deliberate, aimed at disorienting fact-checkers and the public. These disinformation campaigns don’t just affect online spaces but have real-world consequences.
“One of the more concerning patterns is how disinformation is linked to decreasing voter turnout. As voters become disillusioned, feeling like their votes don’t matter, it impacts democracy. In Nigeria, we’ve seen protests hijacked by bad actors who redirect public anger towards destructive ends. Similarly, misinformation has fueled farmer-herder conflicts, inciting violence by turning them into ethnic clashes,” Dr. Duerksen said.
He emphasized the need for fact-checkers, journalists, analysts and researchers to be equipped with open source intelligence tools and skills to track these campaigns and understand how they work and impact the society at large.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
