21 MAY 2024, SA NEWS
As South Africa draws closer to the seventh democratic elections, Media Monitoring Africa has warned that the increase of misinformation and disinformation on social media poses a threat to democratic elections.
Addressing a webinar on Tuesday, hosted by the Government Communication and Information System (GCSI) on the upcoming elections, Media Monitoring Africa Communications Manager Nomshado Lubisi-Nkosinkulu said the “explosion of information” is making it increasingly difficult to know what is real and what is not.
The MMA is an organisation that helps to promote ethical and fair journalism, which supports human rights and democracy.
“Democracy is under threat. South Africa is dealing with unprecedented threats, and political analysts are calling the upcoming elections period as one of the most crucial, potentially aggressive, elections periods in our young democracy.
“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,” Lubisi-Nkosinkulu said.