STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA REPORT 2021 68 In the same country, trolling had more profound consequences, such as a minister resigning after being accused of fraud on social media. (34) Trolling can also take on a humouristic approach, like the Twitter war between Kenya and Tanzania, where the motive was apparently to push Tanzanians to be more active on social media. A bot (short for robot) is a software programme that imitates human user behaviour and continuously comments or shares content on social media to generate debates. There are good bots, which serve communities, but in many cases, bots are used for negative purposes. Superlinear, a company run by a data scientist, investigated how bots and Internet trolls propagate racial and political division in South Africa. By assessing the number of accounts Twitter suspended relating to politics, social unrest, and race during 2014 and 2018, the company showed there was interference in South African politics by both local and international forces. (35) In 2018, as the South African ruling party prepared to choose its new leader, there were a few hundred fake and apparently American accounts created on Twitter to post biased messages promoting one candidate and attacking another. It is believed that these accounts were bots. (36) Some companies have started using bots to enhance the customer’s experience on their digital platforms, and even the WHO has started using bots to provide verified information on Covid-19. (37) Media and Information literate users need the knowledge and skills to spot fake accounts and to deal with bots and trolls immediately. One way to make the distinction is to check whether official company accounts or the personal accounts of prominent individuals are verified by social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. They will have a blue tick next to the names. Another telltale sign is that there are often spelling errors in the URLs or profile names of fake social media accounts or websites. Reporting the account to the hosting site will initiate an investigation into its authenticity. MIL EDUCATION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA A citizen has the right to access free, high quality, independent, and pluralistic media, and information. Citizens should be empowered to make informed decisions and to contribute meaningfully to the national dialogue. To build capacities in the competencies required for MIL is a complex, and lifelong process and requires a structured and consistent approach to be impactful. “The inclusion of Media and Information Literacy in the curriculum means that young people must understand the functions of media and other information providers and seek, evaluate, use and create information to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals. They must also possess basic skills for critical thinking, to analyse and use them for self-expression, for becoming independent learners, producers, informed citizens, professionals, and for participating in the governance and democratic processes of their societies,” Gichunge, the MIL practitioner and Africa Regional Representative UNESCO MIL Alliance, said. A survey on fact-checking and disinformation education in Sub-Saharan Africa showed that there is a semblance of misinformation education in a province in South Africa. (38) In Namibia, Information and Communication has been introduced as a nonpromotional subject from Grade 4 to Grade 12, which is a huge achievement. However, there are still several challenges experienced with the implementation of this subject, such as teachers’ lack of understanding and schools not having the necessary tools and infrastructure to adequately deal with the complex issues under media and information literacy. This requires more support from stakeholders to bridge the gap and meet the needs for MIL education in schools. In so far, the only known structured MIL initiatives in the region are the Media and Information Literacy Learning Initiative (MiLLi*) projects in Namibia and Lesotho coordinated with support from DW Akademie. The various educational products focus on out of school youth, and the interactive and practical training targets youth with no formal education, those who are connected to media, education or youth development organisations or professionals through a certificate course. Recently a variety of online training products have also been developed, including training on platforms like WhatsApp to reach youth where they are. Participants have noted