Fake news in Uganda is an extension of political battles, in which each side uses falsehoods as a tool to discredit the opposing views while advancing their own agenda, according to analysts.

Sylvie Matelly, the deputy director of Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) said that fake news is supported by political activists.

"Social media has been used by politicians in an unethical way. Many of them need guidance and responsibility has to be the rule of the day. Journalists should drive social media and not to be driven by it," said Christoph Plate, the Director for Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Media for Africa.

Dr. William Tayeebwa, the head of Department of Journalism and Communication at Makerere University said that fake news is a political contrast. According to him, fake news is a game initiated by politics, which is widely spread using social media platforms.

These however agree that fake news should not supported, and journalists were warned against being taken up by it.

"Because the journalism values never change, I call for media and cyber literacy for journalists on the proper use of social media in breaking news," Dr. Tayeebwa said.

Vincent Ng'ethe, the deputy Kenya Editor at Africa Check said that journalists should avoid being manipulated by politicians and called for balance and fairness.

“Journalists should be objective while breaking news. This will minimize the spread of fake news,” he said.

Matelly emphasized objectivity and training of journalists as a way of preventing fake news.

This was one of the talking points at the two-day Geopolitics Conference in Makerere University. The conference started on October 26^th 2018 in the Main Hall, and brought together various diplomats and journalists from both African countries (South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda) and foreign countries (France and Germany) to discuss Politics, Diplomacy, Environment and Society.

It was organized by Makerere University in partnership with Embassy of France, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), Alliance Francaise Kampala and UN Women.