#DisarmingDisinformation: DW Akademie launches new social media campaign

Good journalism counteracts disinformation. Independent media check facts, acting as a corrective to manipulative content.

Authoritarian regimes worldwide are trying to sow hatred and uncertainty through targeted disinformation campaigns to undermine democracy and free elections. The invasion of Ukraine has shown that reliable information saves lives, while also showing that disinformation is a part of warfare. Disinformation is news or information designed to purposely mislead or misconstrue facts for its author's benefit.

#DisarmingDisinformation

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, DW Akademie has been working with partners to combat disinformation. Initially, our work focused on fact-checking information on COVID-19. However, in many countries, disinformation on a range of topics from politics to conflicts is increasingly spreading through social media and messaging apps. 

Lessons learned by our partners during the pandemic are now being deployed to educate the public on the dangers of the various forms of disinformation and how better to detect it. For our new #DisarmingDisinformation campaign, we asked our partners to submit videos on how they – be they fact-checkers, media trainers or journalists – work to "disarm" disinformation.

Below is a selection of videos from Ukraine, Ghana and Pakistan. You can watch more #DisarmingDisinformation videos on DW Akademie's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Many thanks to all of our partners who contributed to this campaign.