Markets of Misinformation: Africa's Opportunity to Remake Digital Economies
Scott Timcke · Andrew Rens
Feb 2027 · NYU Press
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infoThis book will become available on February 4, 2027. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
Markets of Misinformation explores how power imbalances in Africa's digital spaces undermine development, equality, social trust and democratic participation. It analyses the connections between big tech platforms, profit-driven market incentives and the spread of information disorders; misinformation, disinformation and harmful content.
At its core, the book argues that digital capitalism, which maximizes economic value through data extraction, targeted advertising and user engagement, often erodes social value. Market pressures create structural weaknesses that fuel discrimination and deepen divisions. However, the book also suggests opportunities for harnessing technology’s transformative power in order to strengthen social cohesion.
Regulating global technology companies that often lack local presence remains a challenge and makes enforcement tricky in a borderless data economy. The book discusses these jurisdictional gaps and the need for better international frameworks at a time when emerging technologies that offer significant opportunities, such as machine learning and generative AI, pose new data governance.
Ultimately, the book is a call to action. It urges readers to challenge dominant technology models and adopt alternative approaches to reshape digital markets and build a more equitable digital future for Africa.
At its core, the book argues that digital capitalism, which maximizes economic value through data extraction, targeted advertising and user engagement, often erodes social value. Market pressures create structural weaknesses that fuel discrimination and deepen divisions. However, the book also suggests opportunities for harnessing technology’s transformative power in order to strengthen social cohesion.
Regulating global technology companies that often lack local presence remains a challenge and makes enforcement tricky in a borderless data economy. The book discusses these jurisdictional gaps and the need for better international frameworks at a time when emerging technologies that offer significant opportunities, such as machine learning and generative AI, pose new data governance.
Ultimately, the book is a call to action. It urges readers to challenge dominant technology models and adopt alternative approaches to reshape digital markets and build a more equitable digital future for Africa.
Markets of Misinformation explores how power imbalances in Africa's digital spaces undermine development, equality, social trust and democratic participation. It analyses the connections between big tech platforms, profit-driven market incentives and the spread of information disorders; misinform...
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About the author
Scott Timcke is a political economist and Research Associate at the Centre for Social Change at the University of Johannesburg and an affiliate of the Centre for Information, Technology and Public Life at the University of North Carolina. He is the author of Algorithms and the End of Politics (2021) and The Political Economy of Fortune and Misfortune (2023).
Andrew Rens is a technology law strategist with a doctorate from Duke University. His research focuses on AI and data governance in the political economies of Africa. He has been a fellow at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society and the Internet Governance Lab at American University in Washington, DC.
Scott Timcke is a political economist and Research Associate at the Centre for Social Change at the University of Johannesburg and an affiliate of the Centre for Information, Technology and Public Life at the University of North Carolina. He is the author of Algorithms and the End of Politics (20...
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