The proliferation of ‘fake news,’ misinformation, and harmful content on digital platforms poses significant risks to democracy, public health, and social cohesion.
As such, the CINIA emerges as a crucial initiative designed to combat these threats through innovative research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and public engagement.
Advance Research
Conduct cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research on information integrity, focusing on Africa’s unique context.
Support Journalism
Offer fellowships and resources for investigative journalism projects that require time and in-depth exploration.
Enhance Public Engagement
Develop workshops and courses to build public capacity in fact-checking, media literacy, and ethical media consumption.
Why CINIA Matters
The Centre for Information Integrity in Africa is crucial for promoting accurate and reliable information across the continent, helping to combat misinformation and support informed decision-making in both public and private sectors.
Protecting Democracy and Society
The integrity of information is foundational to a functioning democracy. Disinformation undermines informed decision-making, jeopardizes public health (e.g.misleading health information), and hampers critical environmental action. CINIA will tackle these issues head-on, promoting accurate, transparent, and reliable information, thereby reinforcing democratic processes and societal trust.
Addressing Critical Global Issues
The Centre’s research will address pressing global challenges such as health misinformation (e.g., COVID-19 ‘infodemic’) and climate change denial. By focusing on the unique dynamics within Africa and the Global South, CINIA will fill critical research gaps and offer tailored solutions, contributing to global knowledge and action.
Fostering Interdisciplinary Solutions
Disinformation is a multifaceted problem requiring diverse expertise. CINIA will foster collaborations between journalists, researchers, data scientists, and policymakers. This interdisciplinary approach will drive innovative solutions, enhance media literacy, and support effective regulatory frameworks.
Strengthening Investigative Journalism
With traditional media facing financial pressures and cutbacks, CINIA will provide essential support for investigative journalism. By offering a sustainable platform for long-term projects, the Centre will enable journalists to undertake critical work that can expose deception and hold power to account.
Building Resilient Media Environments
CINIA will focus on building resilient media environments. This includes supporting independent journalism, promoting media literacy, and fostering public engagement through educational initiatives and public-facing projects.
Meet our Staff
Director of CINIA
Herman Wasserman is Professor and Chair of the Department of Journalism at Stellenbosch University, and a former newspaper journalist. His 17 books include Tabloid Journalism in South Africa; Media, Geopolitics; PowerMedia, Conflict and Democracy in Africa, and Disinformation in the Global South. He is a Fellow and Board Member of the International Communication Association and member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. His awards include the Georg Foster Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany), the Neva Prize (St Petersburg State University), a Fulbright Fellowship (USA) and the Stals Prize for Communication Science (Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns).
He has been a visiting professor at the universities of Groningen, Utrecht, Houston, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität and Tsinghua. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of the International Communication Association and African Journalism Studies, and Associate Editor of International Communication Gazette. He holds an A-rating from the National Research Foundation. He has consulted for the World Health Organization, Deutsche Welle Akademie, OpenAI, AfricaCheck and others.
Researcher
Karen Allen is a former BBC News Journalist and Foreign correspondent with over 25+ years of experience in reporting conflicts, humanitarian response, politics and economics across the BBC’s main international TV, Radio and digital networks. Karen was based in Nairobi as the BBC’s East Africa Correspondent, in Johannesburg as the BBC’s Southern Africa Correspondent and in Afghanistan as the BBC’s Kabul correspondent. She has also reported extensively across Central Africa and the Horn of Africa and was one of the first journalists to be embedded with defence forces during the Iraq war in 2002 – a controversial move - which marked a global shift towards 24/7 news. Karen has consulted for a number of institutions including the Institute for Security Studies, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, World Bank and NATO StratCom. As a practitioner academic, Karen keeps a foothold in the journalism industry and continues to be engaged in podcasting, writing and training. She has lived on the African continent for more than 20 years.
Researcher
Yossabel Chetty is a researcher who began her career in this space at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic just as South Africa went into lockdown. In completion of her Masters in Business Administration at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business, Yossabel conducted a quantitative analysis to understand if there was a correlation between where news is consumed and the acceptance of misleading media narratives. This allowed her to develop a deep understanding of the traditional news media business model and how social media platforms are reshaping this terrain. She has worked on projects related to Democracy, Technology Facilitated Gender Based Violence, Xenophobia, The Energy Transition and Vaccine Hesitancy writing reports for the European Union, the Ford Foundation, WWF, the Presidential Climate Commission and USAID. Through her work with USAID, Yossabel travelled to West Africa multiple times to train young journalists and data scientists on how to conduct ethical social media listening using big data tools.
Research Fellow
Dani joined the School of Information, Journalism and Communication at The University of Sheffield in April 2022 as Lecturer in Journalism & Global Communication. Prior to this, he was an Assistant Professor in Journalism at the Valenti School of Communication, University of Houston (2018-2022), and a Hong Kong PhD Fellow in the Department of Media and Communication at City University of Hong Kong (2013-2018).
Before starting his academic career, Dani worked as a journalist for 15 years in his hometown, Barcelona. He first reported on sports for local radio stations and news websites, and then joined the newsroom of Televisió de Catalunya (TV3), where he worked as producer and news editor, covering foreign affairs.
Dani is an active member of the International Communication Association’s Global Communication and Social Change Division, where he served as Secretary from 2020 to 2022. He is also a member of the editorial board of the academic journal, African Journalism Studies and the Annals of the International Communication Association. At the School of Journalism, Media and Communication, Dani also serves as Director of Postgraduate Research, and is the Co-Lead of the Disinformation Research Cluster.
Admistrator
Abigail Cardinal is a finance and operations professional with over 10 years of experience across financial reporting, and process improvement. She has held key roles at Ackermans Support Centre, and Woolworths Head Office, managing budgets, audits, vendor onboarding, and compliance processes. Abigail hold a BA in Public and Development Management from the University of Stellenbosch, a Higher Certificate in Economic and Management Sciences from UNISA, and is currently completing the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting through IBTC. She possesses strong analytical and leadership skills, is proficient in SAP, Oracle Financials, Qlik Sense, and is passionate about driving financial efficiency and operational excellence.
Steering Committee
Our Partners
Our work is made possible thanks to the generous support of our partners
