By Aisar Fagge
Isah Nasidi, a young Nigerian PhD student of Mass Communication and a research fellow at the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, developed a new model called SAMCAV. First of its kind, the model aims to combat disinformation and discover the fourth typology of information disorder, which he called dil-information.
A statement sent to The Daily Reality reveals that Nasidi’s discovery was the outcome of the six-month research fellowship of the Kwame Kari-Kari Fact-checking and Research Fellowship, which selected 17 researchers from four West African countries to research information disorder.
The SAMCAV model links six elements of information disorder; Source, Agent, Message, Channel, Audience and Victim. These elements are involved in the production, distribution and consumption of information disorder.
According to the researcher, the model will help researchers and policymakers to know how disordered information flows and the effects it causes in society.
Moreover, the work discovers the concept of ‘dil-information’ as the fourth type of information disorder, which has never been considered as an independent typology separate from disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation.
Dil-information is defined as genuine information diluted with false information, misinterpreted or misrepresented with or without intent to harm. Terms like mostly true, half-true, mostly false and misleading are used to classify claims of this nature.
The research aims to set a research agenda for scholars working in this virgin area and help in policy making and developing mechanisms for solving the problem.
Isah Nasidi, an independent researcher and media consultant, is an indigene of Kano state. He bagged his first and second degrees in Mass Communication at Bayero University, Kano. He is currently a PhD student of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the Secretary of Communication History Division of International Communication Association (USA).