ZITET Equips Bulawayo Youth with Disinformation-Busting Skills

Posted by admin on 2024-04-16 08:08:29 |

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By HARRISON JEREMIAH, BANO REPORTER

In the digital era disinformation, misinformation and mal-information is on the rise and these have affected the creation, production, dissemination of information.

Zimbabwe Information and Technology Empowerment Trust (ZITET) saw it fit to address the problems at the grass roots level by empowering the Bulawayo youth with knowledge on how to combat these digital era obstacles.

On the 8th and 9th of April 2024, ZITET held a life changing  workshop which was held at Fidelity Life Centre in Bulawayo where they invited young community leaders from different parts of the city to be empowered with knowledge and practical skills.

The two day workshop focused mainly on combating disinformation, misinformation and mal-information and their effects in the modern day digital age where human beings have become pro-nsumers (producers and consumers
) of various information.

The information that is  available on cyber space is either true, disinformation, misinformation and mal-information, and as individuals one might end up having information overload.

Disinformation can be  defined as the spread of false information, often with the intention of misleading or manipulating people.

It's different from misinformation, which is the unintentional sharing of false information, disinformation is usually spread by people or organizations who have a specific agenda, such as influencing people's opinions or manipulating public opinion.

During the two day workshop another area of focus was, mal-information,  a term that has recently been coined to describe the sharing of true information with harmful intent.

Unlike disinformation, which is false information, malinformation is based on real facts, but it's shared with the aim of causing harm. For example, someone might share a true story about a public figure in order to damage their reputation.

Malinformation can be just as dangerous as disinformation, because it can still lead to misinformed decisions and negative consequences.

The two day workshop intended to equip the community youth leaders on strategies to combat disinformation, raising awareness on the impact of disinformation on sustainable development, commoditization of media and information among other topics to do with media and literacy skills.

The event also tackled types of misinformation and disinformation which include misleading content, false connection, impostor content, manipulated content, fabricated content, Satire or Parody among other forms.

Information has become a basic need for individuals in their day to day lives.

In concluding comments from the Workshop, Bulawayo community youth leaders appreciated this workshop as they express their gratitude towards this initiative

After the event another youth who attended the two day workshop Osinia Ndlovu (not real name) commented on the initiative.

She said,

"This was a life changing workshop as of now I have gained more knowledge on the information and how to fact check as well as to verify every information that I come across. "

The workshop delivered its goals as some youths wanted to learn and unlearn information that they previously had.

ZITET thrives with a vision of equitable and inclusive access to information and technology for sustainable human capital development in Zimbabwe.

The organization strives to improve economic and social opportunities of under-resourced communities in Zimbabwe by promoting digital equity through human capital development, advocacy, research and information dissemination.

Zimbabwe Information and Technology Empowerment Trust (ZITET) is driven along its core values which include innovation, integrity, accountability, servant leadership and inclusion as supported by their motto 'Promoting Digital Equity'

jeremiahharrison290@gmail.com