Scholarly literature on misinformation has insufficiently captured the experience of the majority of the world’s population: those in the Global South. Findings from this literature are concentrated in Western contexts, and when they do extend to the Global South, do not always rely on strategies that are mindful of the socio-economic contexts in these countries.

In a new essay in Current Opinion in Psychology, SIS Professor Sumitra Badrinathan and her co-author Simon Chauchard first describe key factors that make Global South contexts distinctive with regards to misinformation, and how these contextual differences create challenges for combating and for researching misinformation. Next, they highlight existing scholarship based in Global South contexts that has responded to some of these challenges with innovative approaches. Finally, they provide recommendations on the direction that misinformation research on the Global South should take.

Read the full article here.