Facebook ‘lacks willpower’ to tackle misinformation in Africa

As company pursues growth on continent, it stands accused of not putting enough money into moderating content

Facebook has been accused of failing to invest sufficiently to combat misinformation as it pursues rapid growth in Africa, where the Covid pandemic has highlighted the outsize role played by social media in online discourse.

Traditional media and governments have an increasingly limited ability to control information flows on the continent, as social media platforms including Facebook seek to expand rapidly, though largely without fanfare.