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The Star
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
A new era of manipulation: How deepfakes and disinformation threaten business
In mid-April, at a typical South African braai (barbeque), I found myself in a heated conversation with someone highly educated, yet passionately defending a piece of Russian propaganda that had already been widely debunked. It was unsettling. The conversation quickly became irrational, emotional, and very uncomfortable. That moment crystallised something for me: we're no longer just approaching an era where truth is under threat— we're already living in it. A reality where falsity feels familiar, and information is weaponised to polarise societies and manipulate our belief systems. And now, with the democratisation of AI tools like deepfakes, anyone with enough intent can impersonate authority, generate convincing narratives, and erode trust — at scale. The Evolution of Disinformation: From Election Interference to Enterprise Exploitation The 2024 KnowBe4 Political Disinformation in Africa Survey revealed a striking contradiction: 84% of respondents use social media as their main news source, and 80% admit that most fake news originates there. Despite this, 58% have never received any training on identifying misinformation. This confidence gap echoes findings in the Africa Cybersecurity & Awareness 2025 Report , where 83% of respondents said they'd recognise a security threat if they saw one, yet 37% had fallen for fake news or disinformation, and 35% had lost money due to a scam. What's going wrong? It's not a lack of intelligence — it's psychology. The Psychology of Believing the Untrue Humans are not rational information processors; we're emotional, biased, and wired to believe things that feel easy and familiar. Disinformation campaigns — whether political or criminal —exploit this. The Illusory Truth Effect: The easier something is to process, the more likely we are to believe it, even if it's false (Unkelbach et al., 2019). Fake content often uses bold headlines, simple language, and dramatic visuals that 'feel' true. The Mere Exposure Effect: The more often we see something, the more we tend to like or accept it, regardless of its accuracy (Zajonc, 1968). Repetition breeds believability. Confirmation Bias: We're more likely to believe and even share false information when it aligns with our values or beliefs. A recent example is the viral deepfake image of Hurricane Helena shared across . Why? Because it resonated emotionally with users' felt frustration and emotional frame of mind. Deepfakes and State-Sponsored Deception According to the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, disinformation campaigns on the continent have nearly quadrupled since 2022. Even more troubling: nearly 60% are state-sponsored, often aiming to destabilise democracies and economies. The rise of AI-assisted manipulation adds fuel to this fire. Deepfakes now allow anyone to fabricate video or audio that's nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. Why This Matters for Business This isn't just about national security or political manipulation — it's about corporate survival, too. Today's attackers don't need to breach your firewall. They can trick your people. This has already led to corporate-level losses, like the Hong Kong finance employee tricked into transferring over $25 million during a fake video call with deepfaked 'executives.' These corporate disinformation or narrative-based attacks can also result in: Fake press releases can tank your stock. Deepfaked CEOs can authorise wire transfers. Viral falsehoods can ruin reputations before PR even logs in. The WEF's 2024 Global Risk Report named misinformation and disinformation as the top global risk, surpassing even climate and geopolitical instability. That's a red flag businesses cannot ignore. The convergence of state-sponsored disinformation, AI-enabled fraud, and employee overconfidence creates a perfect storm. Combating this new frontier of cyber risk requires more than just better firewalls. It demands informed minds, digital humility, and resilient cultures. Building Cognitive Resilience What can be done? While AI-empowered defences can help improve detection capabilities, technology alone won't save us. Organisations must also build cognitive immunity — the ability for employees to discern, verify, and challenge what they see and hear. Adopt a Zero Trust Mindset — Everywhere Just as systems don't trust a device or user by default, people should treat information the same way, with a healthy dose of scepticism. Encourage employees to verify headlines, validate sources, and challenge urgency or emotional manipulation—even when it looks or sounds familiar. Introduce Digital Mindfulness Training Train employees to pause, reflect, and evaluate before they click, share, or respond. This awareness helps build cognitive resilience, especially against emotionally manipulative or repetitive content designed to bypass critical thinking. Educate on deepfakes, synthetic media, AI impersonation, and narrative manipulation. Build understanding of how human psychology is exploited, not just technology. Treat Disinformation Like a Threat Vector Monitor for fake press releases, viral social media posts, or impersonation attempts targeting your brand, leaders, or employees. Include reputational risk in your incident response plans. The battle against disinformation isn't just a technical one — it's psychological. In a world where anything can be faked, the ability to pause, think clearly, and question intelligently is a vital layer of security. Truth has become a moving target. In this new era, clarity is a skill that we need to hone. Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist, KnowBe4 Africa
IOL News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
A new era of manipulation: How deepfakes and disinformation threaten business
Meta File Pic The battle against disinformation isn't just a technical one — it's psychological. In a world where anything can be faked, the ability to pause, think clearly, and question intelligently is a vital layer of security. In mid-April, at a typical South African braai (barbeque), I found myself in a heated conversation with someone highly educated, yet passionately defending a piece of Russian propaganda that had already been widely debunked. It was unsettling. The conversation quickly became irrational, emotional, and very uncomfortable. That moment crystallised something for me: we're no longer just approaching an era where truth is under threat— we're already living in it. A reality where falsity feels familiar, and information is weaponised to polarise societies and manipulate our belief systems. And now, with the democratisation of AI tools like deepfakes, anyone with enough intent can impersonate authority, generate convincing narratives, and erode trust — at scale. The Evolution of Disinformation: From Election Interference to Enterprise Exploitation The 2024 KnowBe4 Political Disinformation in Africa Survey revealed a striking contradiction: 84% of respondents use social media as their main news source, and 80% admit that most fake news originates there. Despite this, 58% have never received any training on identifying misinformation. This confidence gap echoes findings in the Africa Cybersecurity & Awareness 2025 Report, where 83% of respondents said they'd recognise a security threat if they saw one, yet 37% had fallen for fake news or disinformation, and 35% had lost money due to a scam. What's going wrong? It's not a lack of intelligence — it's psychology. The Psychology of Believing the Untrue Humans are not rational information processors; we're emotional, biased, and wired to believe things that feel easy and familiar. Disinformation campaigns — whether political or criminal —exploit this. The Illusory Truth Effect: The easier something is to process, the more likely we are to believe it, even if it's false (Unkelbach et al., 2019). Fake content often uses bold headlines, simple language, and dramatic visuals that 'feel' true. The Mere Exposure Effect: The more often we see something, the more we tend to like or accept it, regardless of its accuracy (Zajonc, 1968). Repetition breeds believability. Confirmation Bias: We're more likely to believe and even share false information when it aligns with our values or beliefs. A recent example is the viral deepfake image of Hurricane Helena shared across. Why? Because it resonated emotionally with users' felt frustration and emotional frame of mind. Deepfakes and State-Sponsored Deception According to the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, disinformation campaigns on the continent have nearly quadrupled since 2022. Even more troubling: nearly 60% are state-sponsored, often aiming to destabilise democracies and economies. The rise of AI-assisted manipulation adds fuel to this fire. Deepfakes now allow anyone to fabricate video or audio that's nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. Why This Matters for Business This isn't just about national security or political manipulation — it's about corporate survival, too. Today's attackers don't need to breach your firewall. They can trick your people. This has already led to corporate-level losses, like the Hong Kong finance employee tricked into transferring over $25 million during a fake video call with deepfaked 'executives.' These corporate disinformation or narrative-based attacks can also result in: Fake press releases can tank your stock. Deepfaked CEOs can authorise wire transfers. Viral falsehoods can ruin reputations before PR even logs in. The WEF's 2024 Global Risk Report named misinformation and disinformation as the top global risk, surpassing even climate and geopolitical instability. That's a red flag businesses cannot ignore. The convergence of state-sponsored disinformation, AI-enabled fraud, and employee overconfidence creates a perfect storm. Combating this new frontier of cyber risk requires more than just better firewalls. It demands informed minds, digital humility, and resilient cultures. Building Cognitive Resilience What can be done? While AI-empowered defences can help improve detection capabilities, technology alone won't save us. Organisations must also build cognitive immunity — the ability for employees to discern, verify, and challenge what they see and hear. Adopt a Zero Trust Mindset — Everywhere Just as systems don't trust a device or user by default, people should treat information the same way, with a healthy dose of scepticism. Encourage employees to verify headlines, validate sources, and challenge urgency or emotional manipulation—even when it looks or sounds familiar. Introduce Digital Mindfulness Training Train employees to pause, reflect, and evaluate before they click, share, or respond. This awareness helps build cognitive resilience, especially against emotionally manipulative or repetitive content designed to bypass critical thinking. Educate on deepfakes, synthetic media, AI impersonation, and narrative manipulation. Build understanding of how human psychology is exploited, not just technology. Treat Disinformation Like a Threat Vector Monitor for fake press releases, viral social media posts, or impersonation attempts targeting your brand, leaders, or employees. Include reputational risk in your incident response plans. The battle against disinformation isn't just a technical one — it's psychological. In a world where anything can be faked, the ability to pause, think clearly, and question intelligently is a vital layer of security. Truth has become a moving target. In this new era, clarity is a skill that we need to hone. Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist, KnowBe4 Africa
Zawya
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
A New Era of Manipulation: How Deepfakes and Disinformation Threaten Business (By Anna Collard)
By Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy&Evangelist, KnowBe4 Africa ( Last weekend, at a typical South African braai (barbeque), I found myself in a heated conversation with someone highly educated—yet passionately defending a piece of Russian propaganda that had already been widely debunked. It was unsettling. The conversation quickly became irrational, emotional, and very uncomfortable. That moment crystallised something for me: we're no longer just approaching an era where truth is under threat—we're already living in it. A reality where falsity feels familiar, and information is weaponised to polarize societies and manipulate our belief systems. And now, with the democratisation of AI tools like deepfakes, anyone with enough intent can impersonate authority, generate convincing narratives, and erode trust—at scale. The Evolution of Disinformation: From Election Interference to Enterprise Exploitation The 2024 KnowBe4 Political Disinformation in Africa Survey ( revealed a striking contradiction: while 84% of respondents use social media as their main news source, 80% admit that most fake news originates there. Despite this, 58% have never received any training on identifying misinformation. This confidence gap echoes findings in the Africa Cybersecurity&Awareness 2025 Report, ( where 83% of respondents said they'd recognise a security threat if they saw one—yet 37% had fallen for fake news or disinformation, and 35% had lost money due to a scam. What's going wrong? It's not a lack of intelligence—it's psychology. The Psychology of Believing the Untrue Humans are not rational processors of information; we're emotional, biased, and wired to believe things that feel easy and familiar. Disinformation campaigns—whether political or criminal—exploit this. The Illusory Truth Effect: The easier something is to process, the more likely we are to believe it—even if it's false (Unkelbach et al., 2019). Fake content often uses bold headlines, simple language, and dramatic visuals that 'feel' true. The Mere Exposure Effect: The more often we see something, the more we tend to like or accept it—regardless of its accuracy (Zajonc, 1968). Repetition breeds believability. Confirmation Bias: We're more likely to believe and even share false information when it aligns with our values or beliefs. A recent example is the viral deepfake image of Hurricane Helena shared across social media. Despite fact-checkers clearly identifying it as fake, the post continued to spread ( Why? Because it resonated emotionally with users' felt frustration and emotional frame of mind. Deepfakes and State-Sponsored Deception According to the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, disinformation campaigns on the continent have nearly quadrupled since 2022. Even more troubling: nearly 60% are state-sponsored, often aiming to destabilise democracies and economies. The rise of AI-assisted manipulation adds fuel to this fire. Deepfakes now allow anyone to fabricate video or audio that's nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. Why This Matters for Business This isn't just about national security or political manipulation —it's about corporate survival too. Today's attackers don't need to breach your firewall. They can trick your people. This has already led to corporate-level losses, like the Hong Kong finance employee tricked into transferring over $25 million during a fake video call with deepfaked 'executives.' These corporate disinformation or narrative based attack can also result in: Fake press releases can tank your stock. Deepfaked CEOs can authorise wire transfers. Viral falsehoods can ruin reputations before PR even logs in. The WEF's 2024 Global Risk Report named misinformation and disinformation as the top global risk, surpassing even climate and geopolitical instability. That's a red flag businesses cannot ignore. The convergence of state-sponsored disinformation, AI-enabled fraud, and employee overconfidence creates a perfect storm. Combating this new frontier of cyber risk requires more than just better firewalls. It demands informed minds, digital humility, and resilient cultures. Building Cognitive Resilience What can be done? While AI-empowered defenses can help improve detection capabilities, technology alone won't save us. Organisations must also build cognitive immunity—the ability for employees to discern, verify, and challenge what they see and hear. Adopt a Zero Trust Mindset—Everywhere Just as systems don't trust a device or user by default, people should treat information the same way, with a healthy dose of scepticism. Encourage employees to verify headlines, validate sources, and challenge urgency or emotional manipulation—even when it looks or sounds familiar. Introduce Digital Mindfulness Training Train employees to pause, reflect, and evaluate before they click, share, or respond. This awareness helps build cognitive resilience—especially against emotionally manipulative or repetitive content designed to bypass critical thinking. Educate on deepfakes, synthetic media, AI impersonation, and narrative manipulation. Build understanding of how human psychology is exploited—not just technology. Treat Disinformation Like a Threat Vector Monitor for fake press releases, viral social media posts, or impersonation attempts targeting your brand, leaders, or employees. Include reputational risk in your incident response plans. The battle against disinformation isn't just a technical one—it's psychological. In a world where anything can be faked, the ability to pause, think clearly, and question intelligently is a vital layer of security. Truth has become a moving target. In this new era, clarity is a skill that we need to hone. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of KnowBe4.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's African port interests are expanding. Is the PLA Navy next on deck?
Chinese state-owned firms have built, financed or currently operate more than one-quarter of Africa's ports, according to a new study that has detailed the scope of Beijing's investment in the continent's port developments. Of a total of 231 ports in 32 African countries, China is invested in 78 facilities, with the heaviest concentrations in West Africa, underscoring the region's strategic importance to China's global trade ambitions, according to a report by Paul Nantulya of the National Defence University's Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. Under China's current five-year plan, which outlined a "connectivity framework" positioning Africa as a pivotal link in China's global trade network, two forces have driven the investment wave in the continent: the Belt and Road Initiative and Beijing's "go out policy" - a government initiative that provides state backing to firms to venture into overseas markets such as Africa. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Three of the six trade corridors outlined in the Chinese plan run through Africa, landing in East Africa, Egypt and the Suez region, and Tunisia, according to the report. "This reinforces the central role that the continent plays in China's global ambitions," Nantulya said in the report published by the centre on March 10. For instance, China Harbour Engineering Company was the contractor and engineering firm for Lekki Deep Sea Port in Nigeria. The firm took a 54 per cent stake in the port which it operates under a 16-year lease, after securing financing from China Development Bank, according to the report. China gains as much as US$13 in trade revenues for every dollar invested in African ports, according to the study. Isaac Kardon, a senior fellow for the Asia programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said China's presence in Africa's ports is multifaceted - driven by access to African natural resources, especially critical minerals and hydrocarbons, while opening the continent's rapidly growing markets to Chinese products, such as tech and telecoms. At the same time, China is building a diplomatic coalition in developing countries that will provide legitimacy, votes and political support for China, Kardon said. China's drive to export capital to the commercial ports has led to concern that such facilities could be repurposed for military use. The transition of Djibouti's Doraleh Port in the Horn of Africa into China's first overseas military base in 2017 has led to speculation about similar conversions elsewhere, despite official denials. "Military access is a distant third priority, focused mainly on providing security for China's overseas interests," said Kardon, who has studied Chinese port activity in Africa. John Calabrese, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said China's involvement in West African ports is driven primarily by economic interests - encompassing everything from financing and building to managing operations. "Its financial leverage facilitates 'resource-led diplomacy' for raw material and mineral access," Calabrese said, adding that the ports themselves serve as entry points or gateways to African markets for Chinese companies seeking export destinations. "Each new or expanded port in Africa adds to the track record of leading Chinese shipping firms like Cosco Shipping, reinforcing their status as world leaders in maritime operations," Calabrese said. Sub-Saharan geoeconomic analyst Aly-Khan Satchu stressed that in addition to financing, China has been the single biggest provider of infrastructure on the continent, including railways, roads and ports, for more than two decades. "The Chinese understood that investing in Africa's infrastructure preferably under a 'build and operate' premise provided seriously above trend returns," Satchu said. China's presence in Africa's ports has grown alongside its return on investment - the result of Beijing's outsize bet on Africa and its 1.4 billion consumers, and a conviction that the average revenue per user would improve significantly over time. Satchu was not surprised. "China, like any other country, is seeking to protect its economic interests," he said. Some of Africa's Chinese-invested ports can accommodate the country's navy vessels. Since 2000, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has made 55 port calls and conducted 19 bilateral and multilateral military exercises in Africa, according to the study. Debate over the military activity has continued on the continent which has historically been averse to foreign military intervention. Apprehension grew when it emerged that China may have explored prospects for a military base in Namibia's Walvis Bay. Namibia's press first reported on the possibility in 2015, triggering a denial from the Chinese embassy. "Given that similar denials were made when stories began circulating about a potential Chinese base in Djibouti prior to the development of Doraleh, those disavowals have failed to tamp down speculation of similar outcomes in other locations," Nantulya said. Calabrese said China's growing economic interests necessitated protection against threats such as piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and regional upheaval in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. "Although primarily commercial, these ports might be repurposed for military applications," Calabrese said. He said the move would be consistent with the PLA Navy's "two oceans" approach. "The dual-use features of some of these ports could be seen to serve as discreet, non-provocative steps toward an eventual expansion of Chinese maritime power projection," Calabrese added. Kardon, from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the Djibouti base transition showed Chinese naval forces already utilised Chinese-owned-and-operated commercial facilities in Africa. "The potential for more intensive utilisation of these dual-use facilities is clear, as is the possibility of establishment of another base, perhaps on the Gulf of Guinea where counter piracy would provide a parallel rationale to the earlier move to set up basing in the Gulf of Aden," Kardon said. However, it would likely take a major security challenge to China that exceeded the capacity of its African partners to respond for Beijing to significantly expand its military footprint on the continent, he added. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
South China Morning Post
17-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's African port interests are expanding. Is the PLA Navy next on deck?
Chinese state-owned firms have built, financed or currently operate more than one-quarter of Africa's ports, according to a new study that has detailed the scope of Beijing's investment in the continent's port developments. Advertisement Of a total of 231 ports in 32 African countries, China is invested in 78 facilities, with the heaviest concentrations in West Africa, underscoring the region's strategic importance to China's global trade ambitions, according to a report by Paul Nantulya of the National Defence University's Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. Under China's current five-year plan , which outlined a 'connectivity framework' positioning Africa as a pivotal link in China's global trade network, two forces have driven the investment wave in the continent: the Belt and Road Initiative and Beijing's ' go out policy ' – a government initiative that provides state backing to firms to venture into overseas markets such as Africa. Three of the six trade corridors outlined in the Chinese plan run through Africa, landing in East Africa, Egypt and the Suez region, and Tunisia, according to the report. 'This reinforces the central role that the continent plays in China's global ambitions,' Nantulya said in the report published by the centre on March 10. Advertisement
