South Africa heads to the polls soon, and the fight over what voters see, share and believe has already begun.That is why we are gathering for the 2026 Media Freedom Festival from 14 to 16 October at the Goethe-Institut in Johannesburg.
Under the theme Elections and Accountability: News, Digital Media, and Information Integrity, journalists, policymakers, civil society, academics, and the public will take on disinformation, AI, online harms and platform accountability, and honour Black Wednesday along the way.
Expect three days of sharp conversation with keynotes from Dr Christopher Nehring on information manipulation in the age of AI, and from Minister Solly Malatsi on protecting information integrity ahead of the elections, three new handbooks on tackling online harms for judges, survivors and the police, plus new research on regulating digital platforms, hands-on workshops, an elections disinformation quiz night, and the Rate the Hate Gameshow, our live challenge on the limits of free speech, ending with the Reporter Slam at the Wits Theatre, where journalists perform the stories behind their reporting.
Registration opens at 9:30am each day, with the programme starting at 10:00am.
