AFROBAROMETER DISPATCH | FEBRUARY 2020
KEY FINDINGS:
The most common source of daily news for Namibians is the radio (62%).
By 2021, more than 44% of Namibians had still “never” use the internet.
Social media users are most frequently blamed as sources of fake news, followed by journalists and politicians.
Eight out of 10 Namibians regard the country’s news media as “completely free” (47%) or “somewhat free” (33%).
But a majority (56%) think the government should have the right to prevent publications it disapproves of – more than twice as many as a decade ago.
Moreover, majorities say the government should be able to limit or prohibit the sharing of false news (64%), of information or opinions that it disapproves of (54%) or that criticise or insult the president (62%), and of hate speech (62%).
Yet more than half (55%) of citizens say that unrestricted access to the Internet and social media should be protected.