As a part of the Countering Misinformation and Promoting Media Literacy project of the International Center for Investigative Reporting or ICIR, Prime Progress has conducted a step-down fact-checking training for staff of the organisation.
The training, which was conducted by Rejoice Taddy, a Countering Misinformation and Promoting Media Literacy Fellow of the ICIR, was meant to introduce participants to the concept of fact-checking and to refresh the memories of those who were already familiar with the term.
The training started with an introduction to the Information ecosystem, showing how the promise for hyper-connected communities in the digital age has swiftly been replaced by misinformation and is dividing rather than connecting people.
Rejoice also spoke on the different types of ‘fake news,’ the phenomenon of information disorder and then expanded on the concept of fact-checking and the significance of this practice in an ever-changing information landscape.
The staff were also introduced to the existing tools used for fact-checking, which include Video and image verification tools, social media analysis and monitoring tools, networking tools, research tools, and sentiment analysis tools.
Speaking at the training, Ogar Monday, the deputy editor at Prime Progress, added fact-checking starts with your eyes and being self-aware. He encouraged the journalist to question all things and learn the habit of digging deep into claims whilst also giving helpful tips on how journalists can spot the difference and produce copies with multiple pieces of evidence as to how conclusions were brought about.
Marvelous Fatu, a participant, was enlightened by the training and is determined to keep learning the whole process until she perfects it.
“The workshop was insightful, and now I know that as a Journalist, I am responsible for ensuring that the information I take in and the ones I put out is factual. I can’t wait to learn how to use multiple tools for verification,” she said.
The training ended with participants conducting a practical session on Image and video verification.
