By Muhammad Sani Muazu
The coordinator of the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy Dr. Chido Onumah has urged African journalists to prioritize not only the information they provide but also its presentation for maximum understanding and utility.
Speaking at the Kwame Karikari fact-checking fellowship training 2024, Dr. Onumah emphasized the critical need for journalists to be media and information literate to combat misinformation, particularly prevalent on social media platforms.
Highlighting the urgency of the situation in today’s digital age, where misinformation spreads rapidly, Dr. Onumah underscored the importance of journalists acquiring the skills to track and counter misleading content, both online and in mainstream media.
He called for the establishment of media information literacy standards in newsrooms and increased support for organizations addressing these issues, stressing the importance of capacity building for journalists and citizens to combat misinformation effectively.
Other resource persons who presented different papers at the training Ken Kiunga from Google News Lab provided valuable information on Google Fact-checking Tools, while Silas Jonathan from the Center for Journalism Innovation and Development demonstrated practical aspects of fact-checking tools, including image and video verification.
Reporting from the event, Correspondent Muhammad Sani Mu’azu notes that the four-day training, supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), is a prerequisite for the upcoming Kwame Karikari fact-checking fellowship 2024, set to commence on March 1st.