Dan Corder’s new book on why South Africans are vulnerable to misinformation and fake news

South Africans are vulnerable to hogwash, misinformation and fake news. Just throw a rock and it may land on a politician, executive or a PR practitioner who’s massaged the truth to suit a narrative. And even though history has taught us to be suspicious, inequality has divided the country and social media has provided the perfect vehicle to turn a nugget of truth into something altogether different.

Once upon a time, a politician shared, at a dinner party, that the truth comprises 50% reality and the balance, well, what is made up for the public. These days, social media, fake news and AI fakes are making it even easier for people in the spotlight to get away with more, while voters seem relatively meek in collective demands for transparency and governance. Misinformation is everywhere, and disinformation follows hot on its heels.

It is also the stuff that author, journalist, podcaster, comedian and broadcaster Dan Corder tackles in his new book The Miseducation of South Africa. It’s not a manual about what South Africans should think or a collection of opinions everyone should agree with. Instead, Corder wants people to know more, question more and become better equipped to figure things out for themselves.

And it’s a bit of a wake-up call, too. Question more, said Dan Corder South Africa’s relationship with misinformation not a-typical gullible people believing nonsense on the internet. There are reasons why fake news, as Trump calls it, is sticky.

“South Africa is one of the most vulnerable countries in the whole world to disinformation and misinformation,” he said. “South Africans are prone to conspiracy theories. We are built to think, ‘Oh no, but there’s something going on here.’ Because our history has been dominated by that being true,” he said.

It is fertile ground for anyone wanting to sell a story, particularly when the best lies are not necessarily complete fabrications, like the politician once said. Corder added that because they’ve offered an initial small truth, citizens swallow the entire tale as truth.