22 May 2024, Luis Monzon, Hypertext
There is no debate anymore, fake news on social media is dangerous, and according to Media Monitoring Africa, it poses a threat to South Africa’s democratic elections which are set to be held at the end of this month.
Especially now during a time with such competitive elections, and when so many South Africans are so publically undecided on who to vote for, defending ourselves against fake news and disinformation about the elections should be a priority for anyone wanting to cast their vote on 29th May.
“With the dramatic increase in misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms and the lack of strong digital and media literacy skills among the public, it becomes more important than ever before for traditional media to not only be credible but also well equipped to deliver their mandate of informing and educating,” explained Nomshado Lubisi-Nkosinkulu, Media Monitoring Africa Communications manager, as per SA News.
Lubisi-Nkosinkulu says that as a country moves closer to elections, misinformation, disinformation and other digital harms are not just likely, they are a certainty and their prevalence can affect democratic elections.
She adds that disinformation always has “a grain of truth” which makes the public angry, frustrated, fearful, anxious and uncertain and can sway their vote towards certain candidates instead of others, when most of the time the information is inaccurate.