Project Highlight

Covid-19: the Africa Story

What links vampires, al-Shabab and onions?

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Thursday, 9 December, 2021

Project Highlight

Covid-19: the Africa Story

What links vampires, al-Shabab and onions?

A healthcare professional is vaccinated against Covid-19 on March 10, 2021 in Kampala, Uganda.

A healthcare professional is vaccinated against Covid-19 on March 10, 2021 in Kampala, Uganda. © Luke Dray/Getty Images

A six-part podcast series produced by IWPR tells the story of the Covid-19 pandemic from an African perspective, taking in fake news, conspiracy theories and bogus cures.

Presented by Nigerian journalist Nelly Kalu, the series focuses on how disinformation, religious influences and foreign money have all affected the impact of coronavirus in Kenya and Nigeria.

Highlighting the work of those on the frontline of the battle to convince people that the pandemic is not a hoax, Covid-19: the Africa Story also debunks misinformation fake stories such as that the vaccine will turn you into a vampire or that raw onions will cure the virus.

The half-hour episodes include interviews with Kenyan factcheckers and Nigerian health reporters, as well as revealing how Somali al-Shabab militants forced people to watch fake Covid-19 videos made by pro-Trump Pentecostal Americans. Covid-19: the Africa Story, was produced as part of IWPR’s Africa Resilience Network (ARN) programme, administered in partnership with the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and Africa Uncensored.

Written and produced by Nick Raistrick and Nelly Kalu. Series editor Nick Raistrick. Music and sound design by Lee Sparey.

This publication was produced as part of IWPR's Africa Resilience Network (ARN) programme.

Project Focus Africa Resilience Network, Coronavirus Pandemic, The Infodemic

Locations Africa

Topics Coronavirus, Disinformation, Radio

Frontline Updates

Featured Impact

Forensic investigators remove an exhumed body from what is believed to be a mass grave on October 11, 2022 in Lyman, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine.

Forensic investigators remove an exhumed body from what is believed to be a mass grave on October 11, 2022 in Lyman, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine. © Carl Court/Getty Images

Covering War Crimes in Ukraine

IWPR reporting project provides unique insight and access to historic opportunity to see justice done for wartime atrocities.

Syria: Female Prisoners Speak Out

“It is not fair for us to face injustice both inside and outside prison.”

Rescue workers and forensic police exhume bodies from unidentified makeshift graves at the Pishanske cemetery on September 21, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine. The bodies will be examined by forensic officials for possible war crimes.

Rescue workers and forensic police exhume bodies from unidentified makeshift graves at the Pishanske cemetery on September 21, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine. The bodies will be examined by forensic officials for possible war crimes. © Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

The Reckoning Project: Ukraine Testifies

Project aims to help conflict journalists meet evidential standards that will allow their work to support future justice processes.

The reporters of Black Box, (l to r) Stefan Bejan, Stela Mihailovici, Mariana Rata and Ilie Gulca, the investigative journalism programme of Moldova's independent television channel TV8, tracked tangled routes for money flowing to offshore companies from Moldova.

The reporters of Black Box, (l to r) Stefan Bejan, Stela Mihailovici, Mariana Rata and Ilie Gulca, the investigative journalism programme of Moldova's independent television channel TV8, tracked tangled routes for money flowing to offshore companies from Moldova. © Black Box

The Cashier of Dubai: Investigative Journalism with Impact

Moldova story leads to international legal cooperation in anti-corruption case.

Latin America accounts for half of journalists killed globally each year, with media workers facing dangers including complex government-sponsored attacks and threats from powerful international criminal organisations as well as censorship.

Latin America accounts for half of journalists killed globally each year, with media workers facing dangers including complex government-sponsored attacks and threats from powerful international criminal organisations as well as censorship. © Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Latin America: Security Support Provides Media “Lifeline”

Physical, psycho-emotional and digital safety consultations allow vulnerable media workers to gain key skills.

IWPR-supported initiative showed that Venezuelan government was heavily involved in distributing pro-regime disinformation. They also identified a network of social media accounts posing as media outlets that existed exclusively to promote Chavista issues in the global media.

IWPR-supported initiative showed that Venezuelan government was heavily involved in distributing pro-regime disinformation. They also identified a network of social media accounts posing as media outlets that existed exclusively to promote Chavista issues in the global media. © Edilzon Gamez/Getty Images

Combating Disinformation in Venezuela

Media and NGO alliance reveals extent to which the issue affects country’s online information space.

Support local journalists