AW Free Basis in partnership with FactSpace West Africa have educated Togolese journalists on fact-checking methods and instruments.
The workshop was held within the Togolese capital, Lome, on November 22 as a part of AW Free Basis’s media improvement initiative to impart data of finest practices to assist enhance media methods.
The journalists have been taken via the fact-checking processes together with figuring out claims; verification of data; presentation of details; diversification of sources and placing collectively fact-check studies amongst others.
The Government Director of AW Free Basis, Emmanuel Agbenonwossi stated: “Francophone Africa has its personal peculiar challenges which offer a fertile floor for the manufacturing and consumption of pretend information. This coaching sequence initiated by our basis will assist journalists within the area to grasp how the issue of pretend information and cyber-propaganda evolution and manifestation have been intently linked with the rise of populist politics, digital capitalism, and so forth., and the right way to fight the phenomenon. The coaching will even assist bridge the present hole within the information fact-checking cycle, which is way wanted to boost skilled and moral journalism.”
Rabiu Alhassan, the Director of FactSpace West Africa who led the coaching stated: “The weaponization of misinformation has grown to develop into one of many main threats confronting the world. It goes with out saying that attributable to low digital literacy on the continent, many African international locations stand at higher threat. It is for that reason we’re dedicated to constructing the capability of as many Africans to assist in combating unhealthy info. Extra so, we’d like journalists to make sure false info doesn’t trickle into their information studies and this coaching seeks to realize simply that.”
Editor-in-Chief of the AfricaWeb group, Ismail Akwei, additionally took the journalists via the digital merchandise created by the media group to democratise journalism and empower content material creators.
“AfricaWeb constructed the GhanaWeb Reporter for its Ghana platform to entrench the liberty of speech loved within the nation. We’re wanting ahead to introducing the Reporter to Cameroon, Tanzania and Nigeria the place anybody can freely specific themselves and preserve their communities knowledgeable whereas they earn earnings from the income generated from their content material,” defined Ismail Akwei.
In March 2022, FactSpace West Africa, one of many main fact-checking organisations in Africa, entered right into a partnership with AW Free Basis to develop the battle towards misinformation, disinformation, pretend information and propaganda throughout Africa.
AW Free Basis is a non-profit organisation based by AfricaWeb, one of many greatest publishers in Africa working in Ghana (ghanaweb.com), Cameroon (camerounweb.com), Nigeria (mynigeria.com), Tanzania (tanzaniaweb.com) and Togo amongst different African international locations.
The partnership is predicted to leverage on AfricaWeb’s attain of 4 million multilingual guests per thirty days throughout three areas of Africa and its huge community of multilingual journalists to confirm, fact-check and extensively publish verified info in a number of languages throughout Africa.
Amongst different actions, FactSpace West Africa and AW Free Basis would organise fact-checking coaching for journalists, whistleblowers, CSOs and most of the people to develop their fact-checking expertise. The coaching in Togo is in fulfilment of the partnership.
FactSpace West Africa and AW Free Basis sit up for coaching hundreds of fact-checkers in Africa and persistently fact-checking and verifying info in a number of African languages.
About AW Free Basis
AW Free Basis is an impartial non-profit organisation based by AfricaWeb to advertise skilled journalism, impartial media and freedom of expression in Sub-Saharan Africa. With operations in Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Tanzania and Togo amongst others, we use know-how, innovation and expertise to help media underneath menace, and promote open know-how and uncensored media instruments and toolkits for journalists.
About FactSpace West Africa
FactSpace West Africa is an impartial, non-partisan organisation working to deal with mis/disinformation and propaganda throughout West Africa. We’re main fact-checking initiatives in Ghana and The Gambia. We’re a signatory to the Worldwide Reality-Checking Community (IFCN) Code of Rules. The code of ideas of IFCN at Poynter is a sequence of commitments organisations abide by to advertise excellence in fact-checking.
