DUBAWA takes fact-checking to Ghana

Dubawa, a fact-checking platform and organisation, is set to launch in Ghana on Tuesday.

An initiative of the Premium Times Centre Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), DUBAWA was designed to help renew West African journalism through “the promotion of professionalism and the culture of factual public debates that leads to the amplification of truth and accuracy in reporting”.

Stephanie Adams, the programme officer, announced in a statement that the decision to launch in Ghana was informed by the spread of information ladened with “untruths and propaganda” in the country.

According to the statement, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ghanaian minister of information, will be the keynote speaker at the launch while Josephine Nkrumah, chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education, will chair the event.

It added that the launch will be followed by a three-day fact-checking training for a cross-section of editors and reporters from selected media houses across the country.

The training is scheduled to take place from February 26 to February 28.

Participants will be taken through sessions on fact-checking methodology, data interpretation and how to use multimedia verification tools for fact-checking.

“Over the years, especially with the advent of the internet and social media, Ghanaians have been bombarded with information often ladened with untruths and propaganda aimed at influencing them to act in one way or another.  This has damaging implications on journalistic processes, democracy, good governance and the general well being of Ghanaians,” the statement read.

“These challenges are what DUBAWA aims to help resolve through rigorous fact-checking exercises and through training.

“Dubawa is not just a verification platform; it is also a repository of tools and resources that can be used by media professionals and the general public to verify information and produce fact-based reports.

“DUBAWA is one of the three internationally accredited fact-checking platforms in Africa and currently has offices in Nigeria and Ghana.

“It is a member of the International Fact-checking Network. It has three respected journalism leaders in the country on its advisory board: Professor Kwame Karikari; Professor Audrey Gadzepko; and Nana Gyan-Apenteng, former chairman of the National Media Commission.

“It is expected that representatives from government, civil society organisations, the media, diplomatic agencies and political parties would grace the occasion.”