MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION ADVOCACY DRIVE CROWNED WITH DIALOGUE.

Last week, HER Internet hosted a two days’ workshop on Misinformation and Disinformation in Kampala on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st September 2022 following a one month long social media advocacy drive. The initiative which was supported by Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Central Africa (CIPESA) sought to empower structurally silenced women especially LBQ womxn with knowledge on how to identify and combat the effects of false or untrue information in this digital age.

“Misinformation and disinformation are out of everyone’s control. It is hard to bring the train back after information has been spread out there. So, the best thing to do is to sensitize about misinformation and disinformation so we can address the issue,” the Executive Director at HER Internet, Sandra Kwikiriza explained to the participants on the relevance and importance of the workshop during her introductory remarks

Kettie Kahume, HER Internet’s Deputy Executive Director and one of the Facilitators of the dialogues shared in a presentation on the genesis of sharing falsehoods over factual information especially when it comes to marginalized womxn. “Misinformation has always been there as an old tactic of social manipulation… It is as a result of information overload well as disinformation is as a result of information scarcity,” Kettie noted.

Participants delved into topics of discussion that encompassed manifestations, effects and solutions to misinformation and disinformation, understanding their role in peddling fake information and how to verify information in this digital age. Check out @HerInternet via social media: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more information on this topic.