Network of Journalists Fact-Checkers of African Press Agencies launched  

Network of Journalists Fact-Checkers of African Press Agencies launched.  Network of Journalists Fact-Checkers of African News Agencies of the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies (NJF-FAAPA) has been launched to spearhead activities in countering disinformation and misinformation in Africa.

Given the urgency of the phenomenon, participants at the close of a five-day training seminar on the theme: “Fact-Cheking: Detection of Fake News in Media Content” resolved to create the network of FAAPA Journalists Fact-Checkers to nip the phenomenon in the bud.

Participants of the seminar, held from April 22 to 26, 2024, at the African Center for the Training of

Journalists (CAFJ) in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, expressed determination to forge ahead and pool efforts in the fight against fake news.

The Network, among other objectives, will drive efforts through the exchange of experiences and sharing of information regularly to effectively and efficiently fight fake news – a phenomenon that has been pervasive across the continent.

With the threat of the loss of information power in the world and in Africa due to the rise of fake news, the Network – under the auspices of Mr. Fouad ARIF, President of FAAPA – is expected to play a significant role in preserving the integrity of information and ensuring that the public has access to accurate and reliable information

Mr ARIF, President of FAAPA, who expressed appreciation to the participants for their determination to deal with the issue of  misinformation, disinformation and fake news, said it behoved them to take lead roles in the overall efforts of truthful information sharing.

He said at a time characterised by the impact of social networks and the proliferation of fake news, African news agencies were being urged, as part of a new dynamic, to take active roles in  changing the narrative.

That, he said, required the advocacy of innovative approaches in order to accompany the unbridled evolution of information systems and the adoption of the profound changes taking place in the media world.

Mr Arif, also the Director General of Morocco  Press Agency (MAP), said as credible sources of information, the journalists (Fact-Checkers) neeeded to give fundamental importance to the exchange of experience and information in order to face up to the new challenges and the phenomenon of fake news, a real scourge for the media sector

Africans, he said, must work together to fight fake news through effective collaboration and knowledge sharing among journalists across Africa.

Mr Xavier Messe, one of the facilitators from

Cameroon, expressed appreciation to the President of FAAPA and commended him for his leadership, which had resulted in the effective administration of the Moroccan Press Agency.

The experience garnered, he said, would go a long way to ensure that the issue of fake news, which posed as a threat to journalism and information sharing, will be dealt with.

Participants were awarded certificates for their participation.

Source: GNA