GhanaFact To Present Work On Fighting COVID-19 Misinformation At AIJC 2020

The premier annual gathering of African investigative journalists, the 16th African Investigative Journalism Conference will take place from October 6-30, 2020 at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

This year's conference which will feature more than 50 speakers in workshops, panel discussions and networking sessions, will see the managing editor of GhanaFact, Rabiu Alhassan, join a panel discussion on the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on the African continent: trends and challenges.

Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Africa in February, African fact-checkers have been working non-stop to fight the spread of false information related to this global pandemic.

The panel discussion, which will also have two other speakers, Ebele Oputa and Nicola Theunissen will explore how fact-checkers from across the continent are tackling the so-called Covid-19 infodemic; as well as the misinformation trends and challenges they’ve experienced during this time.

Global Fact-checking Conference

In June, the managing editor of GhanaFact, Rabiu Alhassan joined colleagues from four fact-checking organizations on the continent including Dubawa, Pesa Check, Congo Check and Africa Check on a panel discussion during the virtual 2020 Global fact-checking conference.

The discussion centred on the African fact-checkers experiences tackling misinformation and disinformation around the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fact-checking in Ghana

GhanaFact is a journalism innovation project by FactSpace West Africa currently addressing the media market need for an independent, non-partisan fact-checker in Ghana, West Africa.

Launched in 2019, GhanaFact has been tackling the spread of mis/disinformation on social and traditional media, promoting accuracy in public discourse, and helping to safeguard Ghana's democracy.

GhanaFact is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) Code of Principles, one of the few media quality standards recognized worldwide and a member of Africa Facts, a community of fact-checkers in Africa.

As part of efforts to effectively curb the spread of misinformation relating to the pandemic in Ghana and globally, the Ghanaian fact-checking organization joined the IFCN COVID-19 Alliance, that unites more than 100 fact-checkers in more than 70 countries to help fight the “infodemic” of misinformation that came with the disease outbreak.