Blurring lines of truth: Caroline races to counter disinformation in Tanzania

A master’s in social design and sustainable innovation graduate from SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Caroline Shukuru Patrick was involved in social impact projects in Tanzania a while back before relocating to Berlin, Germany.

A development consultant and researcher, her task this year is to research misinformation and disinformation in Tanzania, a mammoth undertaking as the country faces one of the vilest misinformation campaigns on social media.

The social media realm has been the battleground for spreading false information that Caroline categorises as misinformation, where one shares false information unintentionally, and disinformation, which is a calculated spread of false information aimed at causing harm, destroying someone’s reputation and credibility, or spreading one’s desired narrative.

The two words are commonly used in public to mean the same thing, but the distinctive difference helps when trying to curb the two. 

It gets harder and harder each day for an everyday citizen being bombarded with all this information online to distinguish what is true or false; the line is getting blurry, and Caroline is optimistic that combined efforts can firmly tackle the misinformation that is polluting social media and is harmful in the age of new media.

Her journey to relocating to Berlin started in Iringa, where she worked as a project consultant at an organisation known as ‘One Acre Fund’ that supports small-scale farmers, helping them get fertilisers and seeds, among other things needed for farming on credit, and helping them with a repayment plan.

The project she was working on had approximately 50,000 farmers enrolled. After a while, she wanted to cultivate her creative side of life. She started a painting initiative that only lasted for a single project; her internal battle on what her next step in life should be was still there until she browsed online and saw the availability of master’s degrees in social design and sustainable innovation that appealed to her. She applied in Italy and Germany, and eventually she chose Germany.

Adjusting to life in Berlin was not the easiest thing she had to do. Berlin residents are reserved, sticking to small groups, so making friends is not easy, a contrast to the Tanzanian way of life, where strangers you meet would greet and openly involve you in a casual conversation, even if you have just met.

She moved to Berlin in autumn, when the temperatures were as low as 16 degrees Celsius, though considered mild and cool for Germans. Still, for a girl coming from Dar es Salaam, the typical weather is 30 Celsius, and it took some adjustment to live in a European city.

Her initial days in Berlin were tough for her; sometimes she questioned her decision to move there, but as time is a healer, so did she see the light after a few months when she was able to find her community and make meaningful connections.

Caroline comes back to Tanzania at a crucial moment; the rise of disinformation is alarming. 

After a recent shocking assault on Padre Dr Charles Kitima, a statement supposedly from the Catholic secretariat quickly went viral on social media, even shared by educated and reputable social media influencers, only for that letter to be confirmed as fake and the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) distancing itself from the viral letter. 

How much of damage the fake statement that urged people not to participate in the upcoming election has done is yet to be assessed, but a person with rudimentary Photoshop skills can cause havoc for the masses if disinformation is not tackled. 

Compared to the Catholic Church, Jetting to Tanzania, her core focus has been assessing the impact of misinformation and disinformation.

“People are getting so good at disseminating disinformation that it gets harder even for the digitally literate to distinguish between what is real and what is fake,” she said. 

Once the post is ’out there’ online, spreading it is so quick, even for the hawk-eyed authority, and faking it gets easier with the availability of apps and AI that can replicate the exact letterhead and signatures of government, religious organisations, and any authority that can pass as authentic.

A lot of misinformation is within the entertainment sector. False gossip about celebrities in Tanzania is common; reputations are ruined, and some of these malformations have caused entertainers to lose chunks of endorsement money.

But when it comes to the political realm, as we head towards the general election, the dire cost of disinformation cannot be overlooked. 

So far, Caroline has met and talked to important people whose opinions on this matter are crucial in her analysis of the situation in Tanzania. 

She has made contact with media practitioners, civil society organisations, activists, and people in the government, especially the regulatory body. 

She has tried to meet all people involved in countering, monitoring, and regulating the spread of disinformation, trying to see what their take on the situation is.

In Tanzania, there are laws and policies regarding misinformation, but somehow, there is insufficient implementation of the law, and also, there is a lack of accountability; people spreading this misinformation seldom get repercussions for their misdeeds as stipulated in the policies and the laws.

The majority of Tanzanians are unaware of the policies and laws that guide the public on the spread of information. 

Caroline recently attended a ‘World Press Freedom Day’ event in Dar es Salaam in Arusha, and the topic was on data national policy, which is relatively new. 

Sitting next to her was a very prominent media personality in Tanzania and a politician who confided in her that she didn’t even know the existence of the policy or the information that was being shared, which underscored the gap between the written policy and public awareness and understanding. 

When it comes to understanding information policy, it was a revelation to many at the conference that even providing information like the tribe you come from to a hotel or lodge to choose to spread a night is not a requisite, something that most of these hospitality establishments demand and we were unaware that it is against the established law. Information is power, and how one uses it or spreads it can be lethal.

According to Caroline, misinformation stems from carelessness. Disinformation boils down to power; when one thinks of harming someone, it means one wants to get something out of it. Having the tools and power to hurt someone, the sinister motives some people have to see a person or institution destroyed.

Disinformation becomes harder to curb when it helps people confirm their already misconceived biases. Caroline hopes people can rise above their biases and truly confirm their source of information before spreading it.

The dilemma comes when the disinformation is state-sponsored, like the recent case of the illegal deportation of Mr Kilmar Abrego García in one of the signatures of Trump’s deportation drive; on several occasions, the American head of state has insinuated that Mr García has ‘MS-13’ gang tattoos on his knuckles. He has continued spreading the disinformation that has been refuted by photographic experts. In the local context, the Catholic Church has refuted claims that the police statement insinuated that the attacked Fr Kitima had allegedly been drinking before the goons harmed him. In both cases, this alleged disinformation comes from the very authorities that are supposed to fight against the very act they are committing. In both cases, no retractions were presented.

 It’s still being discussed what to do when the authority that is to regulate the disinformation becomes the perpetrator, and it indeed needs to be addressed. Within the government, the authorities are committed and working hard to curb the disinformation, especially now that they have seen the damage it poses to the safety and security of the nation. Caroline will be in Tanzania doing her research for a few more weeks, hoping to connect with other sources as she builds credible research aiming to understand, evaluate, and curb misinformation and disinformation in Tanzania.

Back in Germany, she established a development consultant firm with her partners in Nairobi and England; she hopes to continue with her social project in Tanzania, focusing on digital transformation and gender equality.