Submit your papersSubmit Now
For Enquiries: [email protected]
IIARD LogoIIARD

Climate Misinformation and Media Literacy: A Case Study of Rwanda: A Research Paper

Amadi Godswill Obinna, Ikechi Agbugba, Zauraiz Naveed

Abstract

This paper examines climate misinformation through the case of Rwanda, a country combining high climate vulnerability with a tightly regulated media environment. Drawing on climate science, disaster response, and media-freedom literature, alongside Rwanda-specific data on digital access, literacy, and misinformation literacy from adjacent COVID-19 research, the paper argues that Rwanda's information-control approach appears to reduce measured public exposure to misinformation without a clear basis for concluding that it reduces underlying vulnerability. The analysis further shows that Rwanda's low overall internet and social media penetration, combined with a pronounced urban-rural digital divide, means that radio, community networks, and closed messaging channels such as WhatsApp are likely more consequential vectors for climate misinformation among the agricultural populations most exposed to climate risk than the open social media platforms that dominate existing misinformation research. The paper concludes by identifying the need to measure climate misinformation exposure directly in Rwanda, an evidence gaps the existing literature has not yet filled.

Keywords

climate misinformation; media literacy; Rwanda; information governance; press freedom; WhatsApp; radio; East Africa

References

Coan, T. G., Boussalis, C., Cook, J., & Nanko, M. O. (2021). Computer-assisted classification of contrarian claims about climate change. Scientific Reports, 11, Article 22320. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01714-4 Cohen, M. S., McIntyre, K., Semujju, B., Ireri, K., & Munyarukumbuzi, E. (2023). Misinformation literacy of COVID-19 digital news in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. African Journalism Studies, 44(2), 116–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/23743670.2024.2329695 DataReportal. (2024). Digital 2024: Rwanda. Kepios. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital- 2024-rwanda European Commission. (n.d.). Climate disinformation. Climate Action. https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/climate-disinformation_en Freedom House. (2020). Freedom on the Net 2020: Rwanda country report. https://freedomhouse.org/country/rwanda/freedom-net/2020 Freedom House. (2022). Freedom on the Net 2022: Rwanda country report. https://freedomhouse.org/country/rwanda/freedom-net/2022 Government of Rwanda. (2020). Updated nationally determined contribution. Ministry of Environment. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2021). Climate change 2021: The physical science basis. Cambridge University Press. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2022). Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Cambridge University Press. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. (2023). Rwanda – Floods and landslides: Operational update (MDRRW022). IFRC. National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. (2023). Fifth Rwanda population and housing census, 2022: Main indicators report. NISR. Ntirenganya, E. (2019, May 12). Rwanda: Govt moves to regulate social media content amid misinformation. The New Times. https://allafrica.com/stories/201905130150.html Regis University. (2024). Disinformation and democracy in East Africa. Regis Magazine, Fall/Winter 2024. https://www.regis.edu/about/magazine/2024-fall- winter/disinformation-and-democracy-in-east-africa Republic of Rwanda. (2018a). Law No. 60/2018 of 22/08/2018 on prevention and punishment of cyber crimes. Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda. Republic of Rwanda. (2018b). Law No. 68/2018 of 30/08/2018 determining offences and penalties in general. Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda. Rwanda Environment Management Authority. (n.d.). Climate change. https://www.rema.gov.rw/our-work/climate-change TechCabal. (2025, June 12). Rwanda hits 38% internet penetration, but cost still keeps millions offline. https://techcabal.com/2025/06/12/rwanda-internet-penetration-rate/ Treen, K. M. d'I., Williams, H. T. P., & O'Neill, S. J. (2020). Online misinformation about climate change. WIREs Climate Change, 11(5), Article e665. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.665 UNESCO. (2020, June 25). Rwanda journalists trained to tackle misinformation on COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/rwanda-journalists-trained-tackle- misinformation-covid-19-pandemic UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2022). Rwanda: Adult and youth literacy rate [Data set]. E-ISSN 2545-529x van der Linden, S., Leiserowitz, A., Rosenthal, S., & Maibach, E. (2017). Inoculating the public against misinformation about climate change. Global Challenges, 1(2), Article 1600008. https://doi.org/10.1002/gch2.201600008 Vitalsigns. (2025). Hungry for brains, false climate information spreads worldwide. Environmental Defense Fund. https://vitalsigns.edf.org/story/hungry-brains-false-climate- information-spreads-worldwide Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policymaking. Council of Europe. World Bank Climate Knowledge Portal. (n.d.). Rwanda: Country overview and climate data. https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/rwanda Yale Climate Connections. (2025, October). Inside the viral lies that spread climate confusion. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/10/inside-the-viral-lies-that-spread-climate- confusion/