The Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID) and DUBAWA have commenced training for forty journalists and researchers across Africa.
The 40 fellows will have the opportunity to learn from experienced practitioners and academics sourced across the globe.
This cohort of fellows drawn from Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Gambia and Sierra Leone will in the next six months, receive training in Media Information Literacy, Fact-Checking including visual verification, Data Analysis, and other carefully curated subjects that will equip them with skills to fact-check claims.
Ten out of the forty practitioners are journalist who report in local language including Hausa, Twi, Yoruba and Ibo; the first of its kind in the last four years.
The aim is to deepen the culture of fact-checking in newsrooms across Africa, and empower journalists to continue holding stakeholders to account, and counter the spread of fake news.
Named after Ghanaian Veteran Journalist and Writer Professor Kwame Karikari, the Kwame Karikari Fact-Checking Fellowship has trained hundreds of journalists across the continent in the past four years since it has been initiated.
Last year, 20 journalists graduated from the fellowship programme.
At the graduation ceremony in Abuja, three outstanding fellows Ibrahim Adeyemi, Kabir Yusuf, and Varney Dukuly were recognized for their exceptional achievements.
The fellowship which is currently in its 5th year, has become one of the flagship initiatives of DUBAWA under the auspices of the Centre for Journalism, Innovation and development – CJID, Nigeria.
“The Kwame Karikari Fellowship is Supported by the “National Endowment for Democracy (NED).”