📋 Tender Overview
PROJECT ID
110801
TOTAL FUNDING
CAD 1,600,000.00
PROJECT STATUS
Active
DURATION
36 months
Summary
Rapid changes in social media platforms are posing profound implications for everyone, reinforcing political, religious and ethnic polarization, contributing to declining trust in independent media and increasing gender-based harassment, discrimination and hostility between communities.
The increasing inability to discern misinformation and disinformation from facts is happening at the very moment when disruptive technologies are proliferating, platform regulation and accountability are diminishing and safety standards, content moderation and fact checking are disappearing.
The impact of misinformation and disinformation on democratic resilience and development needs particular research to equip governments, organizations and individuals to be able to understand their impact. However, current efforts by organizations, researchers, journalists and activists to confront are occurring in isolated silos, limiting coordination across sectors and regions. Finding ways to pool technical expertise can help to find comprehensive solutions and increase the likelihood of success of individual interventions and policy responses.
This project will focus on how to counter misinformation and disinformation online so that people can access factual information in order to make informed decisions about their own lives and futures. By investigating and testing solutions to counter this escalating crisis, the Centre for Information Integrity in Africa will become a central hub that facilitates multidisciplinary and innovative research, collaboration, policy advocacy and capacity building within Africa and across regions. IDRC funding will bring researchers and technical experts together to investigate how media literacy, investigative journalism, online safety tools and policymaking can collaborate to equip organizations and communities to thrive in the information disorder, promote responsible government policies and hold global technology platforms accountable for rights respecting moderation and security.
