- Fortifying the Truth in the Age of Synthetic Media and Generative AI Written by Raquel Vazquez Llorente, Jacobo Castellanos, and Nkem Agunwa. In March 2023, WITNESS hosted in Nairobi, Kenya, over 20 journalists, fact-checkers, technologists, policy advocates, creators, human rights defenders and community activists from six African countries: Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria and Zambia. In our two-day workshop, we discussed threats and opportunities that generative AI […]
- Le droit de filmer en Afrique: La loi et la réalité La police nigériane affectionne une phrase populaire que l’on voit affichée dans la majorité des commissariats du pays : La police est votre amie. Mais la réalité est toute autre pour le Nigérian moyen. Les niveaux élevés de violences policières et l’impunité qui les accompagne ont déclenché l’émergence de mouvements sociaux tels que #EndSARS, dans […]
- Understanding the Dangers of Gendered Disinformation in African Elections Co-authored by Temiloluwa Alalade One of the targets of SDG 5 is to “ensure women’s full and effective participation, and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.” Over the years, there has been a steady increase in the percentage of women’s leadership and participation in politics and […]
- Fact from Fiction: Curbing Mis/disinformation in African Elections Co-authored by Temiloluwa Alalade During election season, voters are inundated with campaign materials intended to sway their votes. To engage with information meaningfully voters should have a basic understanding of digital and media literacy as well as critical thinking skills. Experts in Kenya warn that disinformation in elections may increase electoral violence globally. Election–related misinformation […]
- How Gendered Disinformation in Nigeria Precludes Justice for Survivors of SGBV This blogpost is part two of a two part series. Part one here. Co-authored by Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi The rise of technology, currently in its fourth revolution, has precipitated image-based abuse and online violence against women and girls. When misinformation and disinformation infiltrate the digital space, it spreads with horrifying speed in the absence of […]
- From Capture to Justice Published October 20, 2021. Protesting in Nigeria is an act of extreme courage. There have been countless moments in Nigeria’s history when the government responded with brutal force to peaceful protests. But none in recent history has been as violent and premeditated as the one we witnessed on the night of October 20, 2020. I […]
- Prioritize Non-Technological Methods for Combating Misinformation and Disinformation Detecting mis/disinfo Technology platforms are facing their biggest hurdle yet as they race to beat the fast-evolving forms of misinformation and disinformation perpetuated online. More pressing is the sophisticated technology deployed by mis/disinformation actors that make it increasingly difficult to detect and counter. To address this, tech platforms have introduced a number of technological solutions […]
- How Biases Fuel Misinformation and Disinformation Misinformation and disinformation are arguably as old as humanity. The popular myth that bats are blind is scientifically inaccurate, and thus a misinformation. Research has proven that bats are anything but blind. They see in black and white and at night they have the potential to see even better than humans. The introduction of information […]
- Pre-Empting a Crisis: Deepfake Detection Skills + Global Access to Media Forensics Tools In a recent WIRED Op-ed I share the story of a recent deepfake panic in Myanmar. Spoiler: It probably wasn’t a deepfake… but it has important implications for how we think about access to deepfake detection technology and what skills, capacities and escalation options are needed. You can read more about the story here. “RECENTLY […]
- Ugandan Elections: ‘We Made Sure the Cameras Kept Rolling for Safety’ Preceding the widely discredited Ugandan presidential elections of January 14 2021, the main opposition candidate Mr Robert Kyagulanyi “(popularly known as “Bobi Wine”)” urged his supporters to use their smartphones to record cases of poll fraud and violence. “They fear the camera. Use your camera as much as possible, go live wherever you can, expose, […]
- The Power of Video in 2020: Police Brutality in Africa Author: Loui Mainga In 2020, debate on increased visibility of police abuse gathered momentum in Africa following their heavy-handedness under the guise of enforcing COVID-19-related restrictions and much later, the #EndSARS protest movement in Nigeria. Given the pivotal role social media is playing in exposing and bringing heightened awareness to police abuse, a number of […]
- COVID19 and Police Brutality in Africa We have created a video that highlights some of the violations carried out by security forces during the COVID19 lockdown in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.
- To Fight Deepfakes Build Media Literacy, Say African Activists —December 23, 2019 In late November 2019, WITNESS led a workshop on deepfakes at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Building on the success of a workshop in Brazil in July, and with another workshop in Malaysia scheduled for 2020, the event series has been a unique effort to engage academics, journalists, researchers and human rights activists […]
- Mapping the Dead in Ethiopia Mapping the Dead is a public database tracking Oromo people killed in Ethiopia by security forces. This is the second post in our Curate for Justice series.
- A Quick Guide to Safely Filming Protests in Africa Over the last few years, we’ve seen a major increase in violent protests in various countries around the world, not least in African countries pushing back against electoral malpractice. From Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Kenya and Uganda – resistance to political protest is contributing to violence against civilians. To help grassroots […]
