Under the Influence - The CINIA Newsletter

A monthly roundup of CINIA's work and all the major talking points from the world of information disorder and information integrity.

Author

Centre for Information Integrity in Africa
September 26, 2025

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK:

One of the main goals of the Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (CINIA) is to act as a hub for research and practice in a field that is still fragmented and where researchers and practitioners often work in silos. This month, we announce the launch of a major new project aimed at countering this problem of fragmentation.

Prof. Herman Wasserman, CINIA Directo

Thanks to a grant from the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC), CINIA will, over the next three years, convene a diverse network of organisations to counter disinformation, address technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and promote media literacy and the responsible use of artificial intelligence. Together, these partners will develop joint projects that inform policy, strengthen accountability, and demand greater responsibility from major technology platforms.

We also recently published a report that is the result of another international collaborative effort. CINIA researchers worked with the forensic social media analyst group Murmur Intelligence and Polish journalist Tadeusz Michrowski to expose a Central European news aggregator, Visegrad24, which is backed by Polish state funds and protected by U.S. tax breaks, and is fuelling the global spread of a white genocide narrative in South Africa. Read more in the newsletter below.

In this month’s podcast, we interview two editors – Alan Rusbridger, editor of Prospect magazine and former editor-in-chief of The Guardian, and Will Shoki, editor of Africa is a Country, about the media’s role in covering the genocide in Gaza and the impact of disinformation on that ongoing conflict.

Keep up to date with all our activities and developing stories by following us on social media.

Best wishes,

Herman

NEW INVESTIGATION:

Backed by Polish state funds and protected by U.S. tax breaks, a Central European news aggregator is fuelling the global spread of a white genocide narrative in South Africa. Operating under the banner of Visegrád24, it blends far-right, anti- migrant, and anti-Islam rhetoric with influence operations targeting African and Middle Eastern politics, all while maintaining ties to South African journalists and commentators. At the centre of this operation: a media platform propped up by government money and quietly operating across borders under the radar of regulation.

Read the full investigation here.

PODCAST:

Coverage of Gaza has been a massive challenge for the media in a time of disinformation and genocide denial. We focus on what journalists can do about it and what happens when legacy media gets it wrong.

You can listen wherever you normally listen to your podcasts or on the CINIA website.

CINIA IN THE MEDIA

DW Akademie: From encryption to influence – WhatsApp’s role in shaping public discourse

In their book, WhatsApp in the World, Prof. Sahana Udupa and CINIA Director Prof. Herman Wasserman offer the first systematic global study of WhatsApp as an encrypted instant messaging service.

In a recent Deutsche Welle Freedom Talk, Herman Wasserman and Sahana Udupa were joined by DW Internet Freedom Specialist / IT and Cybersecurity to discuss their book and the role of WhatsApp in shaping public discourse. The discussion was hosted by Steffen Leidel - Senior Consultant Africa, DW Akademie.

ABOUT CINIA

In an era where the digital media ecology and social polarization fuels the rapid spread of disinformation, the Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (CINIA) stands at the forefront of safeguarding democratic values and societal trust across the continent.

To learn more about CINIA and the type of work done by the center, you can visit our website.

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