TECHCABAL
For many observers, one of the signs that Twitter was taking its African market seriously was its decision to open an office on the continent. Twitter is the second-most-used social media platform in Africa and has around 5 million Nigerian users. For many Africans, the ease of getting information is perhaps Twitter’s most compelling use case.
It meant that Twitter needed to take the budding problems of misinformation and fake news in its African market seriously. Yet, in 2022, the company laid off its 20-person African team. A decision that left many scratching their heads because the team was so small and served an entire continent. The team had staff for content curation, sales, policy, and communications. That decision also prompted questions about Twitter’s commitment to fighting fake news on the continent.
An absence of oversight
Twitter’s African team was set up to ensure that the content shared on its platform was accurate. The staff were Africans and could identify falsehoods being shared…