Fact-Checking Training Programme for Media Organisations

A CheckDesk is a dedicated fact-checking/verification unit within a news organisation, fact-checking organisation or Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

The Incubation Programme

• The incubation programme seeks to build a diversified ecosystem of local fact-checking champions to aid in the fight against misinformation and disinformation. The programme will consist of:
  • Financial support: The chosen organisations will receive a modest grant to cover eligible activities and costs.
  • Technical support: CfA will offer hands-on technical training, followed by one-on-one project mentorship, along with support from CfA’s staff technologists, data analysts, multimedia producers and editors.
  • Publishing support: The newsrooms will publish their fact-checking products generated under the project on their respective media platforms, and will additionally receive support to publish internationally.
  • Organisation building: The selected organisations will receive online consultations with CfA to assist them in better understanding their audience, refining their fact-checking offering and developing potential revenue models.
  • Growing reach: CfA will offer amplification/growth support, including scaling/syndication support.

Benefits

• Successful organisations will receive hands-on technical training and support to help them develop economically viable models and establish editorial production systems for their CheckDesks.
• The training will consist of a combination of webinars led by expert’s instructors, and courseware on a Mass Open Online Course (MOOC) with tip-sheets, assignments and other resources. Participants will receive mentorship and technical support on class projects, fact-checking tools and data.
• By the end of the training participants will have learnt how to find misinformation, and how to research and debunk misleading information. Participants will also learn how to establish a fact-checking desk in their newsroom, what workflow systems to implement and how to build sustainability through diversified revenue models and impactful audience engagement.

Eligibility Criteria

• The organisation must not work for any paramilitary or security organisation.
• The organisation must be based in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Togo, Uganda or Zambia.
• The organisation must have an existing online presence, including an actively maintained website and/or social media profiles, or a substantive commitment to establish an online presence at the beginning of the programme.
• The organisation must have internet access and internet-capable devices for participating journalists/trainees/researchers to enable them to access project resources and undertake their fact-checking assignments.
• The organisation must have skilled and available editorial staff (journalists and supervising editors) or managerial staff who are committed to participating in the period agreed upon.

For more information, visit Code for Africa (CfA).