23rd March, 2024
By Jethro Ibileke
Ahead of the 21 September governorship election in Edo State, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), has organised a two-day digital skills and fact-checking training programme for journalists in the State.
The intensive training was organized through its fact-checking initiative, DUBAWA, in partnership with the Google News Initiative, with the aim of building participants’ capacity in digital journalism skills, verification, and fact-checking journalism.
In his opening remarks, the Deputy Director, Accountability Programme of CJID, Mboho Eno, who spoke for the Director of Programme, Akintunde Babatunde, disclosed that the organization has trained over 5000 journalists across the West African sub region, with ongoing projects in more than 10 African countries.
Eno who recalled that lots of misinformation flew around during the last general elections in Nigeria, urged journalists to help debunk falsehood and misinformation, in view of the upcoming governorship election in Edo State, warning, “else, the harm will be more than imagined.”
According to him, “Journalists, election observers and fact checkers are indispensable in an eletion of any country.
“When we invest in the media sector, the larger society is better for it. We are training the soldiers that will fight these misinformation.”
Speaking on Fact-checking: Steps and Methodology, Temilade Onilede noted that fact-checking is a journalism genre that stresses the essential elements of verification-truth, accuracy, facts presented to the audience.
“It’s a major role in stopping the spread of misinformation and disinformation in the society, to provide clear and professionally rigorously-vetted information to consumers. It prevents misinformation,” she said.
Other speakers included Lois Ugbede who spoke via zoom on the theme: Understanding information disorder; Google tools for fact-checking and digital verification skills and tools, by Silas Jonathan; Digital safety and security for journalists, by Lateef Sanni; Elections reporting, fact-checking and observer networks: Levarag and lessons for upcoming elections, by Mboho Eno.
About 40 journalists from electronic, print and online media organizations benefitted from the training programme.