Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Unravelling the web: assessing resilience to online disinformation in Kena, Nigeria and South Africa
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
| Published: |
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867614088310292480 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Alberts, Kira Campbell |
| author2 | Lamb, Guy |
| author_browse | Alberts, Kira Campbell Lamb, Guy |
| author_facet | Lamb, Guy Alberts, Kira Campbell |
| author_sort | Alberts, Kira Campbell |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132039 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:46:28.519Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132039 Unravelling the web: assessing resilience to online disinformation in Kena, Nigeria and South Africa Alberts, Kira Campbell Lamb, Guy Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science. Disinformation -- Africa -- Political aspects Fake news -- Political aspects -- Kenya Social media -- Africa -- Influence Internet in public administration Information literacy -- South Africa Elections -- Africa -- Corrupt practices Elections -- Corrupt practices -- Africa Mass media -- Political aspects -- Kenya UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Alberts, K. C. 2025. Unravelling the web: assessing resilience to online disinformation in Kena, Nigeria and South Africa. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch Univeristy [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/d787bb52-0829-4753-90ab-359fd601b20a ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Disinformation presents a profound challenge to democratic resilience across the globe. What was once celebrated as the internet’s democratising potential now appears illusory, with social media increasingly distorting the information landscape. Trust in media and democratic institutions is eroding, and societies are fracturing under the pressure of rising populism and polarisation. The spread of disinformation exacerbates this decline, devaluing truth and warping perceptions of reality. As a result, we find ourselves in an era of post-truth politics, where emotional appeal often outweighs factual accuracy. Disinformation entered mainstream public discourse during the turbulent events of the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Brexit referendum, sparking a surge in academic interest. However, much of this scholarship has remained focused on the Global North, reflecting the priorities of Western democracies. While research from the Global South has expanded in recent years, critical gaps remain—particularly in comparative analyses that span national borders. This study seeks to address these gaps through a cross-national comparative analysis of resilience to disinformation in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, with a particular focus on their most recent electoral episodes. It aims to foreground African contexts and narratives that are often relegated to the margins as the "normative other." By examining macro-level structural factors, interpersonal dynamics, and individual cognitive mechanisms, this research seeks to illuminate the diverse experiences of resilience to online disinformation, using the theoretical framework proposed by Humprecht et al. (2020). The findings indicate that all three countries exhibit varying degrees of vulnerability to disinformation, with distinct trends emerging from the analysis of disinformation content and secondary survey data. South Africa appears to be the most resilient among the three, while Kenya demonstrates lower resilience, with Nigeria performing only slightly better. The conclusion underscores the need for more context-specific research in Africa, particularly in exploring how social identity influences the spread and impact of disinformation. Ultimately, this study aims to enrich our understanding of the disinformation landscape, offering insights that could inform African strategies to combat its detrimental effects. In doing so, it seeks to fortify already fragile democracies as they navigate the turbulent waters of authoritarian pressures. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar nie. Masters 2025-05-20T13:43:03Z 2025-05-20T13:43:03Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132039 en_ZA Stellenbosch University 164 pages : illustrations application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Disinformation -- Africa -- Political aspects Fake news -- Political aspects -- Kenya Social media -- Africa -- Influence Internet in public administration Information literacy -- South Africa Elections -- Africa -- Corrupt practices Elections -- Corrupt practices -- Africa Mass media -- Political aspects -- Kenya UCTD Alberts, Kira Campbell Unravelling the web: assessing resilience to online disinformation in Kena, Nigeria and South Africa |
| title | Unravelling the web: assessing resilience to online disinformation in Kena, Nigeria and South Africa |
| title_full | Unravelling the web: assessing resilience to online disinformation in Kena, Nigeria and South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Unravelling the web: assessing resilience to online disinformation in Kena, Nigeria and South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unravelling the web: assessing resilience to online disinformation in Kena, Nigeria and South Africa |
| title_short | Unravelling the web: assessing resilience to online disinformation in Kena, Nigeria and South Africa |
| title_sort | unravelling the web assessing resilience to online disinformation in kena nigeria and south africa |
| topic | Disinformation -- Africa -- Political aspects Fake news -- Political aspects -- Kenya Social media -- Africa -- Influence Internet in public administration Information literacy -- South Africa Elections -- Africa -- Corrupt practices Elections -- Corrupt practices -- Africa Mass media -- Political aspects -- Kenya UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132039 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT albertskiracampbell unravellingthewebassessingresiliencetoonlinedisinformationinkenanigeriaandsouthafrica |