Nigeria, March 18 -- A recent study on digital disinformation during the 2024 elections reveals that the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) and other democratic institutions were primary targets for coordinated campaigns promoting false narratives.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) research also shows how the role of network affiliations across Africa appears to be growing in importance.

Self-appointed and unaccountable online personas were found to command huge audiences and control narratives by joining forces with influencers across borders. The objective is either to share inauthentic material or game ('trick') the social media algorithms that determine how content is ranked, so their posts get maximum exposure.

Inte...