The geopolitics of disinformation: worldviews, media consumption and the adoption of global strategic disinformation narratives

Concerns over the existence of a global “information disorder” marked by the contamination of the public sphere with campaigns of deception have grown in recent years. This “disorder” has domestic and international dimensions, with multiple state actors standing accused of malicious influence abroad. Previous research on this topic has mostly focused on the impact of foreign influence operations in the Global North, neglecting factors like anti-colonial and anti-imperialist sentiments in the Global South, where this problem has persisted for decades. Using survey data (N = 4,613) collected in Angola, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Zambia in late 2022, this paper addresses this knowledge gap by exploring the relationship between individuals’ worldviews and news consumption, and their support of strategic disinformation narratives favored by Russia and China, both of which have been active in trying to use the news media to influence public opinion. At a country level, we find that support for these narratives is most pronounced in Ethiopia and South Africa, while at an individual level, we find limited evidence that news consumption informs the adoption of these narratives. In discussing these findings, we argue that African public opinion is simultaneously shaped by global, geopolitical shifts and domestic, local contestations.