NGO trains journalists on investigative techniques, fact-checking

Webfala Digital Skills for all Initiative, a non-profit organisation that is dedicated to the promotion of digital education and inclusion, has organised a training workshop for journalists, researchers and civil society organisations.

In a statement, Hameed Muritala, the organisation’s director of communications and strategy, said the event, which held on Tuesday, in Ilorin, Kwara state capital, trained the participants on investigative techniques and tools.

Afeez Rabiu, a journalist and content developer, took the participants through the fundamentals of fact-checking and source evaluation, highlighting the significant role these skills play in combating the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

According to him, disinformation erodes public trust, influence public opinion negatively and can lead to harmful consequences for individuals and the society at large.

He stressed the importance of critical thinking and analytical skills for professionals in journalism and research fields.

Rabiu also introduced the participants to various online verification tools such as Google Reverse Image Search and YouTube Video Reviewer that they can utilise to aid their work.

In another session, Ibraheem Mustapha, a fact-checker and researcher with FactCheck Africa, underscored the crucial need for both physical and digital safety for investigators and journalists, citing alarming statistics on journalist fatalities worldwide and in Nigeria.

Mustapha disclosed that over 400 journalists were killed globally between 2016 and 2020, with Nigeria alone witnessing the death of 10 journalists from 2017 to 2021.

He took the participants through the different digital security tools they can deploy to prevent their investigations, data and sources from being unlawfully accessed or tampered with by powerful elements in the society.

Mustapha, however, stressed that the security of journalists must be guaranteed to enable them perform their constitutional duties of exposing societal rots and holding governments and its institutions accountable.

In his remark at the event, Ahmed Abdullateef, chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kwara state council, identified lack of professionalism and mentorship for young journalists as key factors affecting journalism in Nigeria, while also lamenting the poor welfare of journalists in the country.

Earlier in his opening address, Wale Bakare, the director of partnerships and sustainability at Webfala Digital Skills for All Initiative, said the workshop aims to foster a culture of fact-checking and equip journalists, investigators, and civil society organisations with essential investigative techniques, tools and safety principles, empowering them to uncover and report issues accurately.