ANALYSIS OF COVID-19 REGULATIONS VIS-À-VIS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE SADC REGION

Definition of terms
Disinformation and misinformation.
Misinformation and disinformation on COVID-19 has been about conspiracy theories on
the origins of the virus, its treatment, mechanisms of infection and spread. Disinformation
is a form of false information that is generated and disseminated deliberately to mislead
or cause harm. On the other hand, misinformation refers to false information and differs
from disinformation in that there will be no intention to mislead or case harm.

Infodemic
The World Health Organisation conceived this term (Infodemic) refer to the “over-abundance of
information, some accurate and some not, that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and
reliable guidance when they need it.” 11 The information on COVID-19 has been growing exponentially
and it included truthful and false information (misinformation and disinformation).

Human rights-based approach
A human rights-based approach is a conceptual framework that is embedded in international human
rights law and standards is advances the promotion and protection of human rights.

1 ‘Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Report –13’ 2 February 2020 https://www.who.int/docs/defaultsource/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200202-sitrep-13-ncov-v3.pdf (accessed 10 June 2020).

https://zimbabwe.misa.org

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