Person:
Gondwe, Gregory

Profile Picture

Email Address

AA Acceptance Date

Birth Date

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Job Title

Last Name

Gondwe

First Name

Gregory

Name

Gondwe, Gregory

Filters

20231

Settings

Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.b815688c-86c4-4656-8ac0-0ec5136a4ce1

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Publication
    Misinformation in countries with limited technological literacies: How individuals in sub-Sahara Africa engage with fake news
    (Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, 2023) Gondwe, Gregory
    In an event where the problem of information access is almost terra incognita, the derivate challenge is whether too much information is bad. Most research suggests so, yet very few attempts have been made to examine the digital inequalities and literacies that shape how an individual is exposed, consumes, shares, and ends up believing in fake news. This study builds upon focus group data from six sub-Saharan countries to examine how people in sub-Saharan Africa engage with misinformation. This study focuses on variations in digital access and literacy, which indicate how individuals in Africa are exposed to, consume, spread, and believe in misinformation. The findings suggest that access is not an impediment to fake news exposure, consumption, or sharing. However, the presumed news-literate individuals did not seem to believe in misinformation, except in events that compromised their moral fiber. Because of eco-chambers, news-literate people were more susceptible to misinformation. The overall findings question the notion of news literacy and whether it is indeed a panacea for fighting misinformation.