Fake News

We live in very interesting times. Fake news is everywhere. Depending on where you live, most people who are interested in the news or current affairs now access it online. While not many do not have access to the internet on the phones, there are enough people online to make an impact when a story breaks. To put things in perspective, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania have the highest internet usage, with over 250 million people accessing the internet combined. If you think about it, that’s at least a fifth of the continent online with more being added to that number daily.

The case of the “Arab Spring” and Sudan

A one-minute clip can be beamed across the world in minutes and the world is moved to react. Social media was one of the main catalysts behind the 2010 Arab spring. Protesters used it to organize demonstrations, send information about their activities, and raise local and global awareness of ongoing events.

Similarly, in Sudan, one video, a 59-second clip of Alaa Salah standing on top of a car, chanting ‘Sudan is for all’, became the clarion call for the anti-government protests.  The world was exposed to a reality very few had an idea of, that firstly; Sudanese were standing up to their government and secondly; there was a woman’s movement that played an integral role.

With great power… (Comes great responsibility)

All this to say that the internet is a powerful tool. It is precisely for this reason that entities and individuals with nefarious intentions use it to spread hate and confusion. The recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa saw locals reacting to news that ended up being untrue which ended up in violence that has made a dent on the country’s standing with its neighbors. For example, in some reports, identities of victims were false and clips of foreigners being attacked were over five years old. But it was too late. Before the people were able to differentiate between the real and fake news, emotions were riled up. Consequently, 12 people paid with their lives who, ironically, were mostly South African. More here.

Lessons learned: Developing a “fake news meter”

These recent attacks taught me one thing (as family members across the continent sent me messages of concern). We need to literally take five minutes before we share messages we get through any social media apps. Ask ourselves questions such as: “Who wrote this?”; “who sent this?”; “is this a reputable website?”; “newspaper?”; “journalist?”; “how many followers does the person have?”; “what does their profile say?”; “do they have a profile picture?”; “what else has this person tweeted, posted or written?”. These are by no means full proof, but in an age when everyone wants to be the one with the breaking story, being bold is going to mean going against this grain. Being “revolutionary” will be waiting five or ten minutes or even….this is bold people, an hour before sharing anything. We live in a time when information is so important, it’s literally life and death and because it is, we may all need to have a fact-checking website or app handy just in case…

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