4 May 2024, Rosebank Killarney Gazette, Amanda Mathlare
Misinformation on the other hand is false and misleading content and contains some leaks, harassment, and hate speech.
Media Monitoring Africa established Real 411 in 2019 which is a platform where the public can report any disinformation and misinformation from any social media platform.
The platform was first trailed in 2019. Real 411 was run with the IEC in the lead-up to SA’s national elections in 2019.
Real 411 sought to ensure that:
- Key stakeholders were playing by the same rules (up to that point social media was generally playing by rules set beyond our borders.)
- There was a mechanism for the public to act against disinformation, thus empowering the public and citizens to act against disinformation thus helping to mitigate its impact.
- Real411 offered one central place for the public to report misinformation and disinformation regardless of the platform, and the IEC was able to deal with complaints across digital platforms.
The role of media and social media in ensuring accurate information is disseminated during the 2024 general election period. Traditional and social media are currently the biggest platforms that will be used to disseminate information to voters.