NESA-AFRICOM Roundtable: “The Use of Disinformation”
On 30 July, NESA Professor Anne Moisan held the fifth edition of the NESA-AFRICOM roundtable webinar series with a select group of alumni and an AFRICOM representative. The session was themed around “The Use of Disinformation” within a North African regional context.
With the growth of social media, disinformation has become an increasingly potent political tool. State and non-state actors from various countries (to include Russia and China) have become adept at manufacturing and spreading disinformation or using covert campaigns to influence public perception and politics in countries around the world. Responding to this threat requires governments and citizens to work together to create resilient populations through education and awareness in areas of communications, technology, and social psychology.
Seven presenters were asked to examine the role of government, civil society, and citizens in addressing and countering the effects of disinformation campaigns:
Mr. Albert Llaga, Engagement and BPC Planner at AFRICOM J395, talks about the difference between disinformation and misinformation and how AFRICOM helps build partner capacity to deal with disinformation.
Professor Salmane Tariq El Allami, Professor at Mohamed V University (Morocco), looks at how the media is manipulated by disinformation campaigns and how this can be countered.
Mr. Zine Labidine Ghebouli, Algerian consultant at the American University of Beirut, discusses how protest movements can be discredited and manipulated by disinformation campaigns.
Professor Kamel Ben Younes, Tunisian academic, journalist, and activist, explores how government-owned/sponsored media can ensure its own credibility.
Dr. Hoda Awad, Professor at Misr International University (Egypt), discusses how civil society and citizens can best defend against disinformation campaigns.
Dr. Arslan Chikhaoui, Executive Chairman of Nord-Sud Ventures (Algeria), discusses how disinformation is weaponized.
Brig. Gen. (ret) Khalifa Nafti, Tunisian NESA alumnus, takes a look at how can states overcome the threat of disinformation to contain negative effects.
The views presented in this article are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.
