The ICDF produces weekly reports that serve as a compass for Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE). These reports analyse data from various sources, including social media platforms, industry partners, and health departments. By examining trends in health-seeking behaviour, vaccine-seeking patterns, and the types of health-related communication people engage with, the ICDF sheds light on critical aspects of public health by flagging what has been said to the weekly health priorities and risk communication strategies. These reports are then further communicated to the National Department of Health RCCE working stream on a weekly basis. The RCCE working stream is part of a larger communication system that informs the national, provincial and local communication strategies throughout South Africa. The data from this informs research outputs and can be used for postgraduate students to do research.

As the election approaches, the ICDF is extending its reach beyond health. It is now collaborating with different stakeholders to understand the impact of social media on service delivery in health. The ICDF aims to identify information voids, misinformation, and disinformation related to health services during this time. Armed with these insights, the ICDF can guide policy makers, health practitioners, and communicators to enhance service delivery and effectively address social stressors. The data collected is then shared on a platform known as Social Listening, Health Intelligence & Pandemic Economics (SLHIPE) Misinformation Portal or “Sleep Portal” for short. This information is used for both producing research outputs as well as serve as valuable data for prospective students who are interested in studying misinformation and its link with health.

The ICDF assisted the national Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) during the vaccine rollout for COVID-19 between 2021 – 2023 in the production of the national Social Listening reports. These reports are publicly accessible on the National Department of Health’s website from 2021 – 2023 during the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, ensuring transparency and informed decision making. The data from these reports informed health communication and public health rollout strategies, which lead to research outputs as well as ongoing research in the field.

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures was part of a research group workshop that focussed on multisectoral misinformation surrounding the elections and other public discourse. The ICDF a stakeholder in the workshop that contained various people representing different organisations, all working toward better public discourse on social platforms. Regomoditswe Mavimbela from Government Communication and Information System, (GCIS) opened the workshop, discussing the government’s efforts to combat misinformation. Following her, Guy Berger from South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) highlighted a rights-based approach to misinformation, focusing on its impact on South African elections and broader implications in Africa. Various stakeholders provided feedback and working group was established. The ICDF committed to social listening for the election specific to health, as this is a primary focus of this working group. The data from this endeavour will translate into academic outputs and prospective students who are interested in studying health misinformation surrounding elections.

The University of the Free State (UFS) Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures (ICDF) will be among other research groups, such as the Data Science for Social Impact Research Group (DSFSI), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Research ICT Africa, and the NLP Research Group, diligently monitoring various issues to address the authenticity of information and misinformation on different digital platforms. The ICDF focussed on social media and health analysis. This data enables postgraduate studies and academic insight into social media posts that may cause potential harm to health, health-seeking behaviour, and information-seeking behaviour. Once the content is identified and captured in the database, this data is shared among the research group to understand the broader context of misinformation. Potential harm is then classified and escalated to the relevant authorities (such as Africawatch, Africa Check, and Real411, among others) within the research group. Once the content is shared, the necessary procedures can be followed to mitigate the potential harm.

Similar trends as during the festive season of 2020 – when the behaviour of people was driving COVID-19 transmissions and played a role in the second wave – have emerged due to the Easter holidays, and may contribute to a third wave. This means that we can already anticipate gatherings and a higher rate of travel during the next three weeks. As a result of this as well as non-adherence to the non-pharmaceutical interventions, we can anticipate this event to serve as a catalyst for transmission. The vulnerability and population density dynamics in each province, the behaviour of people, and the social norms between communities must be taken into consideration to contextualise the impact of Easter on disease transmission – especially when looking at SARS-CoV-2. For the Free State, the Easter weekend runs the risk of being a major catalyst that will lead up to the third wave. The evidence and information for this is based on measuring social media for South Africa based on the number of people that opted to travel come April Easter 2021.