EXPERTS at the 2024 Africa Facts Summit have urged journalists and fact-checkers across the continent to sanitise Africa’s information landscape amid surge in global information disorder.
They gave the charge at the summit which kicked off on October 9, in Accra, Ghana, and which brought together some of the continent’s brightest minds in the fight against misinformation and disinformation.
With the theme “Challenges, innovations, and strategic responses to countering Mis- and disinformation in Africa,” the two-day summit aims to reshape the narrative on fact-checking and build resilience against digital deception across Africa.
Noko Makgato, Executive Director of Africa Check, opened the summit with a rallying call for unity in the fight against misinformation and disinformation.
“Let us draw inspiration from each other and unite in our mission to uphold the principles of transparency and trust,” he urged the gathering of fact-checkers, academics and journalists from various parts of the African continent.
His message set the tone for a summit filled with stimulating discussions, workshops, and a renewed focus on collaborative solutions.
“Your voice is crucial in shaping the future of fact-checking on the continent,” Makgato emphasised, encouraging active participation from all attendees.
Also speaking, Professor Abena Yeboa-Banin from the University of Ghana‘s department of communication studies highlighted the critical need to clean up Africa’s information landscape. She noted that while global attention on misinformation grows, African nations often bear the brunt of disinformation campaigns, exacerbated by government responses that sometimes restrict free speech.
“If you move across our continent, there is a constant target of misinformation directed at our various countries and citizens,” she said, pointing out Africa’s vulnerability to foreign information manipulation.
Her remarks underscored the urgency to address these challenges not just from a technological perspective, but also through policies that protect the integrity of information without stifling freedom of expression in the continent.
In her keynote address, Onica Makwakwa, executive director of the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, stressed the need for a culturally sensitive approach to combating misinformation and disinformation on the continent.
“While these issues are global in nature, we have a unique situation in our continent,” she said. “We’ve got multiple cultures, languages, and histories, as well as an inherited legacy of mistrust. The colonial legacy of manipulating information still lingers.”
Makwakwa highlighted the absence of Africa’s linguistic and cultural diversity in the digital space, calling it a missed opportunity both for preserving indigenous languages and for reducing misinformation.
“We need to see this diversity as a strength, not a barrier,” she added, pushing for an African-centered strategy that respects the continent’s unique context.
A panel discussion titled, “Lessons learned from covering the presidential lections in the DRC and Senegal”, brought real-world insights into the mix. Ange Kasongo of Balobaki Check and Valdez Onanina of Africa Check shared their experiences on how collaboration among fact-checkers helped curb misinformation during these critical elections.
Onanina lauded the Nigerian Fact-Checkers Coalition for its innovative approach, which served as a model for guiding fact-checking efforts across Africa and especially during Senegal’s presidential election in 2023.
Among the summit’s most thought-provoking presentations was, “Tall Tales: When Journalists Invent Fiction,” delivered by professor Peter Kimani of the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communications in Kenya. He dissected the phenomenon of fabricated news stories and their impact on public trust.
Another session led by Kwaku Krobea Asante from FactCheck Ghana tackled the troubling rise of gendered and sexualised disinformation in Africa. Asante’s analysis shone a light on the specific tactics used to target women in public life, urging for more robust strategies to counteract these digital attacks.
The award ceremony was the peak of the two-day event and it had participants from various African countries and winners were announced in three categories, namely: Fact-check of the year by a working journalist, fact-check of the year by a student journalist, and fact-check of the year by a professional fact-checker.
In the professional fact-checkers category, Adnan Salif Sidibe from Faso Check, emerged winner with his fact-check of a claim that was made at the opening ceremony of COP28 in 2023.
While acknowledging the honour of receiving the award, Sidibe thanked the summit organisers for giving fact-checkers the platform to showcase their crafts.
In the working journalist category, the trio of Chiagozie Nwonwu, Fauziyya Tukur & Olaronke Alo from the BBC global disinformation team were declared the winners with their fact-check on a claim about the alleged certificate forgery of the current Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Nwonwu thanked the organisers of the event while noting that he was happy to receive accolades from colleagues as this is the second accolade they would be receiving for the story due to the sensitive nature of the fact-check.
“It’s very important for us to be recognised for this; these came with a lot of death threats. We had to shut down our Twitter (X) handles… we wanted to hold the government accountable, we wanted to hold the president accountable. There was a lot of internal rebuke done on this story and this is the second time I’m being very happy about this story. This is the second time we are getting thumbs up from colleagues. Thank you,” he said.
In the student journalist category, Rita Enemuru, a student at the University of Uyo, in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria took home the prize.
Enemuru expressed gratitude to Africa Check for giving young people, including students like her, the opportunity to showcase their talent and professionalism while also thanking her superiors for their motivation.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org