• • • • • where non-digital strategies are just as important as their digital counterparts. Most of the studies focus on publicly available online platforms and do not follow or examine rumors and conspiracy theories circulating through other channels and offline (Islam et al. 2020). There is limited literature on the impact of approaches or initiatives to counter information disorder led by non-journalistic actors (Wasserman and Madrid-Morales 2018). Although mentioned as an approach mostly in phenomenological studies such as those on Covid-19 and health communication, the literature reviewed for this study only included two studies whose primary research objectives were to investigate fact-checking organizations and their networks. The majority of studies are concentrated in the usual research hubs—South Africa and Zimbabwe in southern Africa, Kenya in East Africa, and Nigeria in West Africa. English is the dominant language in research on mis- and disinformation in the sub-Saharan African context. Other languages, such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swahili, and so forth, could be utilized more frequently. Furthermore, there is no evidence of publication in local languages, despite the fact that initiatives countering false information have adopted some local languages. This is likely also related to trends in the global publishing economy, which prioritizes research published in English. 7. CONCLUSION The studies reviewed are informed by an understanding that media credibility, lack of access to information, and, in some cases, socioeconomic shortcomings contribute to information disorder in sub-Saharan Africa. Information disorder is framed as important in as far as it threatens democracy and possibly citizens’ rights to access information and to expression. Studies related to Covid-19, published between 2020 and 2021, make up the majority of studies on information disorder. This comes as no surprise given the extent to which this global health crisis has exacerbated the amount of falsehoods circulating, most of them with high virality due to the nature of social media and technology. However, some studies, especially those predating the pandemic, highlight the influence of cultural systems, socioeconomic inequalities, and religion I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH in contributing to information disorder, particularly in relation to the uptake of myths, rumors, or conspiracies. The approaches examined and/or proposed reflect what researchers believe to be the root cause of information disorder: low levels of trust in media, low media and information literacy, and the declining credibility of traditional media. Attempts at combating information disorder through policies and legislation have been met with suspicion given how vague the legislation tends to be and that it has often been employed selectively, especially when the information in question is antiauthoritarian. There is much that can be done to combat information disorder through policy, but this will require concerted efforts involving all the different stakeholders—civil society, academia and researchers, governments, digital platforms, policymakers, policy advocates, and the general public—that are active in the fight against information disorder. Knowledge gaps remain in the field of combating information disorder, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. More Afro-centric approaches to research in this area will likely yield better results. This could lead to a better understanding of the root causes of the disorder on the continent and, by extension, assist actors to devise tailored ways of combating the infodemic in subSaharan Africa. Sub -Saharan Africa – 1 72