Online disinformation and misinformation threat to democracy, national security

Apple iPhone 6s screen with social media icons. (Courtesy/GettyImages)

Gathering clouds is an expression that is used to warn of an impending storm. Before western technology came into the scene, Africans had robust early warning systems that ensured that no danger caught them flat-footed like sitting ducks.

Today, with rapid development of both the political economy and the state, we have set up a number of security organs such as National Intelligence Service (NIS) whose primary responsibility is to disrupt threats against the people. Like the fortune tellers of old, NIS has sounded a warning bell.