penal laws does not vary much; some examples from the region are presented below to synthesize the general sentiments found in the penal laws. Angola and Benin are the only two countries that use penal laws against falsehoods. In Angola, Article 224 of the Penal Code 2019 criminalizes the abuse of press freedom and the dissemination of information that encourages secession; the creation of organized groups of crime; the instigation of racial, tribal, ethnic, and religious hatred; and apologies for fascist and racist ideologies. It also criminalizes the intentional promotion of a campaign to persecute or defame any person through the systematic and continuous dissemination of false information regarding facts, attitudes, or the professional, administrative, or commercial performance of that person. It further criminalizes the intentional publication of false news. It also prohibits propaganda against the national defense force and the armed forces. Article 322 covers the divulging of false statements or the distortion of true facts that may disturb the actions of the armed forces. Burkina Faso legislates against disinformation in its penal law (No. 025-2018/AN) by criminalizing, in Articles 312–13, the intentional dissemination of false information which is likely to make others believe that the destruction of property or an attack against persons has already occurred or is likely to take place. Mozambique’s penal code (No. 35/2014) provides for an offense of disturbing public order or attempting to do so. Articles 398(2) (a) and (b) cover the instigation or provocation of collective disobedience against the laws of public order or essential public functions, or any attempt to disturb public order or the peace by any means. This is further qualified by adding that such an offense may be compounded by publishing false or biased news which may cause alarm or unrest, or distributing or attempting to distribute written material which leads to the same result. On the misinformation front, Section 66 of Kenya’s penal code (Chapter 63 of 2009) criminalizes the publication of false statements, rumors, or reports which are likely to cause fear and alarm amongst the public or to disturb the public peace. Uganda’s penal code (the Penal Code Act Cap. 120, 1950), which criminalized the publication of false statements, rumors, or reports which were likely to cause fear and alarm amongst the public or to disturb the public peace, was declared null and void by the Supreme Court in 2002 (Charles Onyango & Anor v Attorney General – Supreme Court Constitutional Appeal No. 2 of 2002). I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH However, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Section 171 of the Penal Code has been used to prosecute individuals for the dissemination of false information. Section 171 prohibits an individual from unlawfully or negligently doing anything which that person knows or has reason to believe is likely to spread the infection of any lifethreatening disease. PUBLIC HEALTH/COVID-19 LAWS AND REGULATIONS For the better part of 2020 and into 2021, the world has been confronted by a public health crisis of unprecedented proportions in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic. In their efforts to get the disease under control, most authorities were confronted by what the WHO (n.d.) termed an “infodemic”—the availability of “too much information, including false or misleading information, in digital and physical environments during a disease outbreak.” Because the stakes are high in such situations, many countries have passed laws and regulations that deal with the communication of information surrounding the pandemic. Of the forty-six countries studied, five have enacted Covid-19 regulations, all of them in southern Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Namibia. South Africa has, through Section 11(5) of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002, criminalized the publication of any statement made “with the intention to deceive any other person” about Covid-19, the infection status of any person, or any measure taken by the government to address Covid-19. The “intention to deceive” is understood to mean that, even if the content used is not false or fabricated, the way that it is used or published is misleading or deceptive. In Namibia, according to Regulation 16 of the Covid-19 Regulations (published under Proclamation No. 9 of March 28, 2020, as amended), it is an offense to publish any false or misleading statement about or in connection with Covid-19, or any statement that is intended to deceive any other person about the Covid-19 status of any person or about measures to combat, prevent, and suppress Covid-19. In Zimbabwe, Section 14 of the Public Health (Covid-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (No. 1) criminalize the publication of false news about any public official involved in enforcing or implementing the national lockdown, or about any private individual “that has the effect of prejudicing Sub -Saharan Africa – 1 6 0