The Kwame Karikari Fellowship, part of DUBAWA, a cross-border fact-checking and verification platform initiated by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), has commenced the training of 40 journalists and researchers from Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Gambia, and Sierra Leone. The aim is to address the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation in the anglophone region of West Africa.
The fellowship, now in its seventh year, attracted applicants from various newsrooms for a six-month program focused on combating information disorder in the continent. Participants are also exposed to various Open-Source Intelligence tools.
Named after the distinguished Ghanaian journalist and media advocate Kwame Karikari, the fellowship is dedicated to promoting accountability in public institutions and is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Scheduled to run from March 1 to August 30, 2024, the fellowship includes a virtual four-day workshop training. Dapo Olorunyomi, the Chief Executive Officer of CJID, emphasized the centrality of journalism to the progress of West Africa, stating that fact-checking verification is a key element of democracy.
Akintunde Babatunde, the Director of Programmes at CJID, highlighted that the program initially began with training newsrooms in Nigeria to incorporate fact-checking desks and expanded to include journalists from five West African countries. He noted that this year’s program includes journalists working on indigenous platforms, with ten fellows conducting their fact-checks in local languages.
Faruk Shuaibu; From the News Source: DailyTrust
