Researching and countering misinformation in the Global South

Scholarly literature on misinformation has insufficiently captured the experience of the majority of the world's population: those in the Global South. Findings from this literature are concentrated in Western contexts, and when they do extend to the Global South, they do not always rely on strategies that are mindful of the socioeconomic contexts in these countries. In this essay, we first describe key factors that make Global South contexts distinctive with regards to misinformation and how these contextual differences create challenges for combating and for researching misinformation. Next, we highlight existing scholarship based in Global South contexts that has responded to some of these challenges with innovative approaches. Finally, we provide recommendations on the direction that misinformation research on the Global South should take.