Impact of misinformation and disinformation on the use of research evidence in Africa : disinfodemic and policy in an African context
Date
2022-02
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Abstract
The results of this research revealed various cases, actors, origin, impact, and mitigation strategies of mis/ disinformation on the use of research evidence. The COVID-19 global pandemic has revealed the danger of mis/ disinformation with numbers of reported studies from west and central Africa demonstrating significant negative impact on evidence informed policymaking and women’s empowerment. “Evidence hesitancy” can be seen in policy makers, practitioners, and citizens alike. In this study, the underlying reasons for evidence hesitancy are analyzed: mis/disinformation; crises; culture; religion; social media. The study identified strengthening policy makers and researcher’s relationships as a way of institutionalizing research evidence for Evidence-Informed Decision Making (EIDM and EIPM, evidence-based policy-making).
Description
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Final Technical Report
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Keywords
MISINFORMATION, COVID-19, PANDEMIC, ACCESS TO INFORMATION, SOCIAL MEDIA, SCIENCE JOURNALISM, MASS MEDIA, EVIDENCE-BASED PLANNING, HEALTH POLICY, RESEARCH TO POLICY, VACCINATION, EPIDEMIOLOGY, GLOBAL