The collaborative 2021 Digital Report by We are Social, and Hootsuite reviewed the 16 member states of the Southern African Development Community, (5) The region has ● Close to 110 million people are Internet users, which represents an average of 36.78% Internet penetration rate; ● About 49 million citizens (which is 26% of the population) use social media and 94% of users access social media via their mobile phones; ● 283 million mobile connections are active in the SADC, given that many people have more than one mobile phone. This figure is set to increase over the coming years. With more people accessing the internet and social media platforms, the need for media and information literacy which enables citizens to navigate the world wide web, and the plethora of information safely and responsibly, while benefiting from the opportunities, is intensified; and ● The SADC community mostly engages with the following social media sites (in order of popularity): Facebook has over 47 million users, LinkedIn (12 million), Instagram (11 million) and Facebook messenger has 10 million users. Twitter comes in last with three million users. TikTok, the new kid on the block, has been very popular among Generation Z and is set to make inroads into the Digital Report in 2022 in many SADC member states. The context above provides insights on how social media continues to play a major role in most people’s lives such as availing them with opportunities to make positive changes in their communities. Social media platforms serve as news sources; raising the need for awareness on how information received via these platforms can be manipulated and how it can influence users. Social media through clever tactics aims to keep users engaged on their platforms, according to Tim Wu, Columbia Law School professor, and author of the book The Attention Merchants, “the attention industry needs people who are in a distracted state, or who are perpetually distractible, and thus open to advertising.” (6) Users are the product that social media platforms sell and in return corporations target users with advertising and persuade users based on the personal information users give them access to by engaging on social media platforms. While traditional media have editors as gatekeepers, algorithms have replaced these gatekeepers on the Internet and social media. Understanding algorithm influence on users’ engagement online is a key aspect of MIL. It is important to understand why certain content is available to users, and why users don’t see everyone’s posts. With the use of algorithms users have no control over the information they get. Platforms should make information about algorithms transparent enough for users to see what the rules are about, what gets through and what doesn’t, and users should have some control over these decisions. Media and information literacy allows users to know how information is presented to them and can have respectful dialogue with others whose views differ from theirs, which is an important element of living in a democratic society. Algorithms cause filter bubbles, meaning users only receive information that they are likely to agree with, and this can cause polarisation. Polarisation has dire consequences on efforts to build tolerance among the populace, and this can divide nations. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AS INFORMATION SOURCES There is also a need for users to know what social media platforms are doing to resolve some of the challenges they experience, and what they can do to avoid challenges that are part and parcel of the digital technology ecosystem. In 2021, the whistle-blower Frances Haugen, a former product manager of the civic misinformation team at Meta, broke her silence and provided documents that indicated that the social media company’s own research shows that it amplifies hate, misinformation, and political unrest – but the company has hidden what it knew. Meta says it is working with 80 fact-checking organisations to fact-check content in 60 languages and once a post is labelled as false by the fact checkers, it limits the reach and informs people who may want STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA REPORT 2021 63 UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERNET AS SOURCES OF INFORMATION