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 a given month, more than 100 million people open Pokémon Go—the app that allows users to superimpose the world’s most profitable media franchise onto reality using only their smartphone. Using their phone camera and a flick of the wrist, they captured tiny digital monsters at the park, at the office, sometimes in active minefields, and, yes, in the bathroom.

Who else was watching?

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.

While social media disinformation has received significant academic and policy attention, more consequential forms of intentional manipulation target the underlying digital infrastructures upon which society depends.

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.

What impact do foreign authoritarian influence operations (FIOs) have on democracy? Through an examination of democratic attitudes in 15 African countries between 2009 and 2023, we present preliminary but compelling evidence that autocrats export authoritarianism.

For almost a decade, the study of misinformation has taken priority among policy circles, political elites, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and the media.