The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has provided requisite training for news reporters from the five regions of the north to fact-check and counter mis/disinformation on their line of duty. With funding support from the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the participants were grouped into two – each group receiving intensive two-day skills training in Tamale in the northern region.
The capacity building program exposed the Journalists to concepts such as information disorder, fake news, mis/disinformation, how pervasive these are; and how they manifest as well as their impact on peace and democratic governance.
The training also highlighted on some fact-checking and verifications tools that Journalists can explore to identify and counter mis/disinformation as well as the standards and ethics of fact-checking.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Mr. Stephen Tindi, one of the trainers and a Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism said media information literacy has become necessary for practitioners to obtain the right information as gatekeepers to adequately inform the public.
He explained, “Almost everybody uses the media and now we’re even relying on the digital media more, which is not simple to use, so its very important that we know how to use these platforms effectively by getting the right skills.
He added, “For Journalists, these skills are crucial because they’re the gatekeepers; they’re the ones who receive the most important news, sort through them and share the ones they think are relevant with the public.”
He said therefore that the fact-checking and countering mis-disinformation training seeks to equip the practitioners with the right skills to be able to obtain and fact-check information before they share that with their public.
Mr. Tindi reiterated this is quite important in the present day and age that a lot of people seek to benefit from spreading wrong information, maintaining Journalists therefore need to take time to check information that they obtain to ensure it is credible and relevant before they pass it on with members of the public.
Meanwhile, empowering the knowledge and skills of the Journalists enables the media to promote Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions as captured in goal 16 of the UN sustainable development goals.
