Russia’s media often paint the west as hypocritical or imperialistic and Moscow as a defender of sovereignty. Chinese media emphasise Beijing’s role as a partner in Africa’s development.
The spread of disinformation is one of the biggest risks to societies. Recent examples have been conspiracy narratives about COVID-19 vaccinations and false claims about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
There is evidence that Russian operatives are active spreaders of false information across the Sahel. China has also used state-controlled media to present its own strategic narratives on the African continent. These findings also matter for counter-disinformation strategies. When strategic narratives capitalise on deep-seated attitudes and geopolitical histories and alliances, mere debunking of disinformation by means of fact-checking or media literacy campaigns is unlikely to succeed on its own.
Similarly, Chinese media – CGTN, China Daily and Xinhua – emphasised China’s role as a partner in Africa’s development while downplaying or denying negative aspects of Chinese influence. Chinese narratives were more polarising and offered the most striking differences between countries. When asked about the statement Only 3 in 10 Zambians said that it was true, compared to 6 in 10 Ethiopians. Foreign forces organised anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019.One way to interpret these differences is by looking at the wider geopolitical alignment in each country at the time the survey was conducted.
Angola BRICS China Disinformation Fact-Checking Information Warfare Media Literacy Misinformation Propaganda Public Opinion Russia Today (RT) Russia-Ukraine Russian Propaganda Sovereignty US Imperialism Uganda Zambia Geo-Strategic Social Media Propaganda
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