Across Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan, digital harms are reshaping how conflict unfolds. Ground Signal follows the practitioners, researchers and digital rights defenders doing the hard, essential work of pushing back.
Ground Signal is a 20-minute documentary by filmmaker Jean Marie Ndihokubwayo exploring the growing impact of digital harms in conflict-affected contexts across Africa — and the locally led efforts working to address them.
Disinformation, hate speech, online gender-based violence and the manipulation of information ecosystems are increasingly inseparable from how conflict unfolds, communities are polarised and democratic processes are disrupted.
About the film
In Ground Signal, Jean Marie meets digital peacebuilding practitioners working across Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan, uncovering the demanding but essential work they are doing and the emerging connections between efforts within and across countries.
Produced by Build Up in 2026, the film was created as part of an initiative to convene locally led alliances of civil society organisations addressing digital harms in conflict-affected contexts across West and East Africa.
Through interviews with practitioners, researchers and digital rights defenders, the film explores what digital harms look like on the ground, how local actors are responding, and why greater coordination — across organisations, sectors and countries — is essential to driving systemic change.
Documentary screening
Date: 14 October 2026
Location: CICG – Centre International de Conférences de Genève and online
Ground Signal will be screened by the Kofi Annan Foundation and Build Up as part of Geneva Peace Forum. The session will bring together perspectives from practitioners working to address digital harms in conflict-affected contexts across Africa.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A, bringing together the filmmaker and practitioners from the region to explore the challenges and opportunities for addressing digital harms.
The conversation will look at locally led and multistakeholder approaches to digital harms, social media analysis in conflict contexts, youth-led responses, and the role of collaboration in developing more effective responses.
The discussion also draws on findings from complementary research examining multistakeholder engagement in digital harms regulation and policy across Africa.
About the film
Title: Ground Signal
Director: Jean Marie Ndihokubwayo
Production: Build Up
Year: 2026
Duration: 20 minutes
Language: English
Subtitles: French, Arabic and Somali
Featured countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan.
