Fake News and Gendered Public Labor: Burundian Peace Activists Combat COVID-19 Disinformation

Disinformation during a public health crisis imposes a disproportionate burden on caretakers and first-line responders, who are most likely to be women. We know little about how feminist activist groups have responded to misinformation or “fake news” regarding COVID-19. To address this gap, we examine a Burundian women’s peace organization in exile, Mouvement Inamahoro: Femmes et Filles Pour la Paix et la Securité (Inamahoro), that pivoted from its usual peace promotion work to address the social and humanitarian consequences of the pandemic in Burundi and within Burundian refugee communities. Inamahoro diverted its resources to combat disinformation among vulnerable populations despite its mandate, which did not include providing public health information, taking on another form of uncompensated emotional labor.1