Africa
- A former insider has revealed the inner workings of Russia’s disinformation operations in the Central African Republic, providing rare first-hand testimony of how Wagner Group coordinated media manipulation in the country. The whistleblower, journalist Ephrem Yalike-Ngonzo, describes a sophisticated system of propaganda, media control, and threat-based coercion. The revelations come as Russia expands its influence across Africa through Wagner Group operations, combining military presence with sophisticated information warfare targeting local populations, particularly in countries where it has displaced traditional Western partners.
“I realized it was against my conscience,” says Yalike-Ngonzo, who was paid to write pro-Russian stories and organize anti-Western demonstrations. “This was not journalism… They were pushing me: you should do this, you should write about this.”
- Open Foundation West Africa (OFWA) convened a forum focused on protecting Ghana’s 2024 elections from information disorder, bringing together key organizations including Wikimedia Foundation and Code for Africa. The initiative emphasized training media practitioners to identify and combat various forms of false information, introducing verification techniques and tools. The forum established clear definitions for different types of information disorder, with particular attention to election-specific challenges.
- Meanwhile, Ghana’s Media Foundation for West Africa has identified a concerning trend of gendered and sexualized misinformation targeting female politicians ahead of the country’s elections. The phenomenon represents a coordinated effort to discourage women from public office through false narratives that exploit gender-specific vulnerabilities, including attacks on age, marital status, and family life. This development comes amid broader efforts to protect election integrity, with organizations working to train female journalists in safe election coverage.
“We are witnessing a surge in gendered and sexualised disinformation, a deliberate attempt to attack women with false narratives. If we are to achieve gender parity and encourage more women to enter politics or hold public positions, we must address this issue head-on,” says Kwaku Krobea Asante, Team Lead at MFWA.
- Adding to the flood of disinformation related news ahead of the Ghanian elections, Ghana’s police chief has called for stronger collaboration with media outlets to combat election-related misinformation ahead of upcoming polls. Inspector General Dr. George Akuffo Dampare addressed journalists at a stakeholder meeting in Accra, emphasizing information management as key to electoral peace. The police have pledged protection for journalists while warning that false information could disrupt the smooth running of elections and cause chaos.
“We expect that you don’t offer your platforms for spreading misinformation and disinformation,” Dampare urged media representatives.
- In a related development, authorities have arrested Kumasi-based radio and television presenter Oheneba Nana Asiedu for allegedly spreading false information about voting procedures. Police say Asiedu published misleading statements encouraging voters to cast ballots for presidential candidates on separate days, violating Ghana’s electoral laws. The National Commission for Civic Education condemned the incident, urging the public to rely on official sources for electoral information. Asiedu has been granted bail with conditions for periodic police reporting.
- A disinformation campaign targeting the head of Mozambique’s Constitutional Council has emerged as the body prepares to validate October’s election results. Social media posts are spreading unfounded claims about death threats against Chairperson Lucia Ribeiro, allegedly over her handling of election validation. The false narratives claim a prison-based death squad is targeting Ribeiro over supposed plans to order a vote recount or annul the election results that favored the ruling Frelimo Party.
“The spread of groundless information which promotes threats of violence is not only irresponsible, but it is also a serious attack against the rule of law,” warns MISA, the Media Institute of Southern Africa.
Americas
- An American national has been fined $605 in Belize for spreading false information about a police incident on social media. The case involved misleading broadcasts about an alleged police shooting, with potential jail time if the fine remains unpaid.
- Brazil has launched a major international initiative to combat climate disinformation, working with the UN and UNESCO to create the “Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change.” The coalition, which already includes Chile, France, Denmark, Morocco, Sweden, and the UK, will establish a UNESCO-managed fund of $10-15 million to support climate journalism and research.
“In the fight for survival, there is no room for denialism or disinformation,” declared Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Asia-Pacific
- The Philippines’ Defense Secretary has accused China of intensifying its disinformation efforts while denying Philippine access to its exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea. Speaking alongside US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, Secretary Teodoro highlighted China’s use of disguised vessels and aggressive information operations, particularly following new US-Philippine military agreements.
“It’s the same story over and over again. They have been more aggressive denying us access to our EEZ in the WPS,” said Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
- According to the Business Standard, Bangladesh faces an evolving disinformation landscape in the post-Hasina era marked by increasing religious tensions and coordinated foreign influence campaigns. The pattern of misinformation has shifted from government-controlled narratives to a more complex web of actors, including non-resident Bangladeshis, Indian media outlets, and various political factions. The surge in religious disinformation targeting both Hindu and Muslim communities has created particular concern, with fact-checkers noting the emergence of new disinformation networks and increased activity from foreign media outlets seeking to exploit Bangladesh’s political transition.
“During the Hasina regime, such incidents [spread of mis-disinformation resulting in communal violence] were mostly event-based, meaning during major puja or celebrations of the Hindu community. But now it is not a season or event-based. Almost every day after 5 August, you will find someone posting about the houses and temples being set ablaze or shattered,” explains Minhaj Aman, lead researcher at Dismislab.
- Indian authorities have filed legal charges against four Telegram channels for allegedly spreading misinformation during student protests over civil service exam scheduling in Uttar Pradesh. The channels are accused of inciting unrest that led to demonstrations outside the UPPSC office, where students demanded consolidated exam dates.
- Google’s Threat Intelligence Group has revealed details of an extensive pro-PRC influence operation involving four commercial PR firms creating networks of fake news websites. The operation, dubbed GLASSBRIDGE, uses hundreds of inauthentic news domains targeting audiences in dozens of countries to spread pro-Beijing narratives while posing as independent local media. Since 2022, Google has blocked over a thousand GLASSBRIDGE-operated websites from its News and Discover features for violating policies on deceptive behavior. The most prolific operator, Shanghai Haixun Technology, has had more than 600 domains removed, while spreading content on topics ranging from territorial claims to COVID-19 through a network of low-quality news sites and wire services
“By using private PR firms, the actors behind the information operations (IO) gain plausible deniability, obscuring their role in the dissemination of coordinated inauthentic content,” the report notes.
- Australia has abandoned proposed legislation that would have imposed fines of up to 5% of global revenue on tech platforms failing to curb misinformation, citing lack of Senate support. The decision marks a setback in the country’s efforts to regulate tech giants, with Communications Minister Michelle Rowland’s bill facing opposition from both conservative and Green parties. The dropped legislation would have required unprecedented transparency from tech companies in their efforts to prevent misinformation, coming amid broader Australian attempts to assert regulatory control over foreign tech platforms.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called the government bill a “half-baked option” in televised remarks.
Europe
- A new report explores Cyprus’s disinformation environment, highlighting how the island’s divided status and media ownership concentration create unique vulnerabilities. The country, which rose to 55th place in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, faces challenges from editorial interference, ownership opacity, and business interests that lead to journalist self-censorship.
“Direct interference in editorial decisions, growing media concentration and lack of transparency in print and digital media ownership have undermined media pluralism and have pushed journalists towards self-censorship,” the report states.
- EU DisinfoLab also provided a new report detailing Malta’s deteriorating information environment. The report spotlights how political polarization and attacks on journalists have intensified since the 2017 assassination of investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia. The analysis reveals coordinated disinformation campaigns targeting media and anti-corruption activists, often through secret Facebook groups linked to government officials. Major disinformation narratives appear around COVID-19, immigration, and political scandals. The report documents the emergence of a “growing disinformation-for-hire industry” using bogus copyright claims to remove unfavorable content from search results.
- Turkey has intensified its crackdown on alleged disinformation, with government data revealing 4,590 investigations and 33 imprisonments under its controversial 2022 law. The surge in cases, from 139 investigations in 2022 to 2,381 in 2023, has particularly targeted media professionals, with 56 journalists facing investigation. The developments come as Turkey, ranked 158th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, continues to be one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, with civil society groups warning the law increasingly serves to silence opposition voices.
“This regulation is not about protecting public order; it’s about censorship,” says journalist Ahmet Kanbal of Mezopotamya Agency, who has been investigated four times under the law.
- A new exhibition in Budapest traces the long history of disinformation and forgery in Europe, challenging the notion that “fake news” is purely a modern phenomenon. The traveling show from the House of European History features over 100 artifacts dating back to the Gutenberg era, examining both malicious and beneficial uses of forgery throughout history. The exhibition, open until February 16, explores how disinformation tactics have evolved from ancient memory condemnation to modern digital manipulation, while highlighting cases where forgery served humanitarian purposes, such as saving lives during the Holocaust.
“We start the exhibition with a practice of antiquity which was called the ‘condemnation of memory’. With this practice they tried to erase people from history,” the exhibition notes, drawing parallels to Soviet erasure of Hungarian leader Imre Nagy.
- A new wave of Russian disinformation targets Moldova-Ukraine relations with false claims about plans to build a border wall. The fabricated story, which includes a fake quote from Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi congratulating Donald Trump on his election victory, appeared on several Russian and Moldovan websites.The false narrative aims to undermine Moldova’s support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees, joining earlier Russian propaganda attempts to create anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Moldova through fabricated stories about refugee behavior and alleged military threats.
“The Government of Moldova has shown leadership in responding to the protection needs of refugees fleeing war in Ukraine,” notes UNHCR, contradicting the narrative’s attempt to suggest tensions between the countries.