Mozambique recorded 81 cases of disinformation in the digital space in 2025, more than triple the 28 identified in 2024, with the political sphere remaining the primary target for the spread of false content, according to the Report on the State of Disinformation in the Digital Space in Mozambique 2025, presented this Tuesday, June 30, by the Southern Africa Media Institute (MISA Mozambique), with support from the Norwegian Embassy.
During the presentation of the study, as reported by Lusa, journalist Armando Nhantumbo clarified that the 28 cases recorded in 2024 pertain only to the period between July and December, but he noted that the trend continues to be one of growth. “These numbers simply show that cases are on the rise,” he stated.
According to the report, of the 81 cases identified in 2025, 64 involved completely fabricated information, while 10 resulted from the manipulation of true content taken out of its original context to support misleading narratives.
“The chart shows that, of the 81 cases, 64 were false. It was completely fabricated information; the disinformers created this information,” explained Armando Nhantumbo.
The study indicates that politics continues to account for the majority of disinformation cases, with public figures and government institutions as the main targets. The content analyzed includes false reports of deaths, arrests, dismissals, and alleged recruitment processes for nonexistent jobs, which are often used in fraud schemes.
According to the researcher, Mozambique currently has about seven million Internet users and approximately four million social media users—figures that, although relatively small, reveal the scale of the challenge in combating the spread of false content.
“Facebook has become the main source of the problem, where almost everything happens,” he said, adding that WhatsApp plays a central role in the redistribution of messages, audio clips, and links containing misleading content.
During the same session, Rosa Dique, head of the Data Protection Department within the Cybersecurity and Data Protection Division of the National Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, advocated for strengthening the legal framework to regulate the digital space, noting that “the issue of freedom of expression is not an absolute right” and must respect the Constitution, human dignity, and other fundamental rights.
The report concludes that combating disinformation requires a coordinated response among the government, the media, civil society, educational institutions, and digital platforms, and recommends strengthening digital literacy, fact-checking, and the timely dissemination of official information to limit the spread of false content.
