In his remarks, Dr Madrid-Morales outlined how foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) is shaping political debate across Africa. He drew attention to the growing presence of Russian and Chinese media outlets, the strategic use of state-backed infrastructure such as StarTimes, and the need for democratic partners like the UK to focus less on disruption and more on supporting trusted journalism and providing credible alternatives in local information ecosystems.
Discussing disinformation campaigns by foreign state actors across the African continent, Dr Madrid-Morales said: “Russian actors… are contributing to redrawing the maps of what the mainstream narratives are. So for example, anti-French sentiment—much linked to anti-Western, anti-colonial sentiment—has been present in most of the continent for many, many years. What these actors are doing is they are amplifying, they are giving the tools for those messages to be more prevalent.”
In outlining potential solutions, Dr Madrid-Morales cautioned that “disruption” approaches, such as trying to shut down channels, are ineffective and send the wrong signal, and argued that democratic actors should focus on supporting independent journalism. He highlighted the BBC’s strong reputation outside the UK and noted the importance of meeting younger audiences where they already are, including on YouTube, while warning that broad media-literacy and constant debunking can sometimes have counter-productive effects.
Dr Madrid-Morales is Co-Lead of the Disinformation Research Cluster in the School of Information, Journalism and Communication. His latest book on this topic, co-edited with Herman Wasserman, is Disinformation in the Global South (Wiley). Dani also helps curate disinfoafrica.org, a website that brings together research on mis/disinformation in Africa.