Internet Shutdown and Regime-Imposed Disinformation Campaigns

Abstract This article examines the circulation of a military-led disinformation campaign against civilians leading the pro-democracy movement in Sudan. We examine the political communication of military leaders in Sudan after the June 3 massacre when the state open-fired at the protestors in Khartoum and later declared an Internet shutdown. Our primary thesis is that a state-sponsored Internet shutdown generates a communicative environment conducive to disseminating disinformation created by the state (here, military) to justify their violence and junta rule in the country. Insights from this case study also demonstrate how autocratic states impose Internet shutdowns to disable regional media and circulate disinformation against dissenting voices. Unlike most literature contextualised in fully functioning democracies of the global North, our article offers a glimpse into the evolving forms of disinformation in transitioning democracies under autocratic regimes. Our findings provide theoretical provocations to explore the workings of the conventional forms of control in a digitally mediated and autocratic society.