• Research Associate, Sub-Saharan Africa

Tessa Knight

Tessa Knight is a research associate for the Sub-Saharan Africa region at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) based in South Africa. Tessa worked as a news journalist for two South African media companies before joining the DFRLab where she discovered her passion for tracking disinformation and the spread of digital propaganda on the African continent.

As a research associate for DFRLab’s sub-Saharan African research unit, Tessa is committed to increasing awareness around digital propaganda, and working with other researchers, journalists and policy-makers to come up with uniquely African solutions to both local and international disinformation targeting the continent.

February 2022

Russian War Report: Belarus joins conflict against Ukraine

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

The Council's open-source researchers break down the Kremlin's latest moves online and on the battlefield in its war in Ukraine.
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February 2022

Local support for Russia increased on Facebook before Burkina Faso military coup

by Tessa Knight and Allan Cheboi

Pro-Russian support increased in the Sahel, with residents of Burkina Faso holding Russian flags while celebrating recent coup.
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January 2022

Twitter’s Ethiopian interventions may not have worked

by Tessa Knight

Twitter’s decision to deactivate trending topics in Ethiopia did not reduce the volume or toxicity of tweets about the civil war.
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