11 April 2021, Daily Maverick, William Bird and Thandi Smith
Through Real411, Media Monitoring Africa has been tracking disinformation trends on digital platforms since the end of March 2020. For Real411, we are focusing on combating anti-vaccine content, and we are also gearing up for local elections. Hate speech angers, hurts, dehumanises and insults, and it has real potential to cause public harm, but just what do we mean by the term, and what should be done about it?