Between 2010 and 2022, 80 countries enacted new legislation or amended existing laws in an attempt to curb the spread of misinformation online. This sharp and global adoption of misinformation laws, however, cannot be explained by the sudden emergence of false or misleading information, as these problems have existed for a very long time.

In recent years, countries in the Sahel region of Africa have faced widespread insecurity and instability. Stretching across the northern tier of sub-Saharan Africa, Sahel countries Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have all experienced a series of military coups and rising levels of right-wing extremism.

Disinformation spread via digital technologies is accelerating and exacerbating violence globally. There is an urgency to understand how coordinated disinformation campaigns rely on identity-based disinformation that weaponizes racism, sexism, and xenophobia to incite violence against individuals and marginalized communities, stifle social movements, and silence the press.