Disinformation campaigns on the continent have nearly quadrupled since 2022, and nearly 60 percent are state-sponsored, often aiming to destabilise democracies and economies.
The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies disclosed this while revealing that the rise of AI-assisted manipulation adds fuel to this fire. Deepfakes now allow anyone to fabricate video or audio that’s nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
Anna Collard, SVP content strategy & evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, said, “This isn’t just about national security or political manipulation, it’s about corporate survival too.
“Today’s attackers don’t need to breach your firewall. They can trick your people. This has already led to corporate-level losses, like the Hong Kong finance employee tricked into transferring over $25 million during a fake video call with deepfaked ‘executives’.”
Read also: Video confessions and law enforcement in the age of deepfakes: A thin line between fact and fiction
Collard said these corporate disinformation or narrative-based attacks can also result in fake press releases, which can tank stock, Deepfaked CEOs can authorise wire transfers, and viral falsehoods, which can ruin reputations before PR even logs in.
She stated that the battle against disinformation isn’t just a technical one, as it is psychological. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risk Report, misinformation and disinformation were a top global risk, surpassing climate and geopolitical instability.
“In a world where anything can be faked, the ability to pause, think clearly, and question intelligently is a vital layer of security. Truth has become a moving target,” she added.
