Call for Papers! Democracy versus mis- and disinformation in Africa! Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria!

The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria is pleased to launch this call for book chapters on the theme of democracy versus mis- and disinformation in Africa. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 30 June 2024.

Background

The 2024 World Economic Forum global risks report ranks misinformation and disinformation as the most severe short-term global risks. Also known as false news, misinformation and disinformation share a definitional similarity of falsity. However, while misinformation is shared without the knowledge of its falseness and without an intention to cause harm, disinformation is created and shared to cause harm. The malign effects of false news manifest in increased social discord, undermining of public institutions and processes, public manipulation, and in volatile cases, violence and radicalisation.

Conference

Upon receiving the first drafts of the chapters, the Centre will organise an online conference in December 2024 where authors will present their findings and receive feedback from their peers. The papers will be subjected to a double-blind peer review process before they are eligible for publication. The Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) will publish the final book chapters.

Timelines:

30 June 2024 – Submission of chapter abstracts
2 December 2024 – Submission of full chapter drafts
December 2024 – Democracy versus mis- and disinformation in Africa conference

Application procedure

Interested applicants should send their abstracts on the above themes to Marystella Simiyu [email protected], copying [email protected] and [email protected] by 30 June 2024. The abstracts should be in English and not exceed 500 words.