THE Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) has launched two situation rooms in Abuja and Lagos to monitor and combat misinformation ahead of the Edo State governorship election scheduled to hold on September 21, 2024.
The NFC, known for its collaborative approach to tackling disinformation, aims to monitor, fact-check, and debunk misinformation and disinformation that could incite violence, engender voter apathy, undermine trust in the electoral process, and affect the outcome of the election.
The coalition, established in June 2022, consists of major fact-checking organisations, including Africa Check, FactCheckHub, and Dubawa, all of which are International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) signatories.
Other partners include the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), and several media outlets like Premium Times, Daily Trust, and TheCable.
The NFC played a major role in debunking false claims during Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, leveraging a team of researchers, data analysts, and social media specialists to counter misinformation. The model used by the coalition has since been adopted in countries like Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa.
The NFC coordinator and the editor at the FactCheckHub, Opeyemi Kehinde, said the NFC is committed to stemming the tide of misinformation and disinformation which have become a weapon in elections.
“Just as we did during the general elections, our team is ready to fact-check false information that could potentially influence the election,” he said.
“The fact-checking organisations in the coalition are collapsing all their staff for the Edo election operation to ensure that Nigerians and most especially Edo residents make informed decisions from accurate information only during the election.”
The Nigeria Editor of Africa Check, David Ajikobi, noted that the coalition deploying manpower and resources to monitor the Edo election underscores the importance of keeping the information space void of false and misleading narratives during elections.
“Elections provide the opportunity for the electorate to make important decisions that have real-life consequences. Voters should have accurate information about the candidates, parties, and the electoral process to help them make informed choices. These are the reasons we are doing this.
“Considering that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised concerns about the spread of false information ahead of the Edo election, and the history of contentious elections in that state, we are approaching this carefully. We hope to significantly mitigate the impact of disinformation on the conduct and outcome of the election,” he said.
Ajikobi added that the coalition would fact-check and verify claims made by political actors, news reports, social posts, photos and videos related to the Edo election, and publish fact-checks online to counter false or misleading information.
In his remark, Dubawa Nigeria Editor, Kemi Busari described the election period as a sensitive time often marred by misinformation and disinformation.
“This level of disinformation requires coordinated efforts to combat hence the need for collaborations such as this under the umbrella of the coalition. This collaboration has so far proven to be effective in combatting election-related mis/disinformation,” he stated.
Beyond the Edo election, the coalition also plans to up its fact-checking activities for the next off-cycle governorship election coming up in Ondo State in November.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.