Facebook has announced the expansion of its Third-Party Fact-Checking programme to ten more African countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon and Senegal.
The scheme runs in partnership with Agence France-Presse (AFP), the France 24 Observers, Pesa Check and Dubawa and aims to reduce the spread of misinformation on its platform.
The scheme is certified by the non-partisan International Fact-Checking Network. It will now be available in Ethiopia, Zambia, Somalia and Burkina Faso through AFP, Uganda and Tanzania through both Pesa Check and AFP, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cote d'Ivoire through the France 24 Observers and AFP, Guinea Conakry through the France 24 Observers, and Ghana through Dubawa.
Providing fact-checking in English and French across eight countries, Phil Chetwynd, AFP Global News Director said: “AFP is delighted to be expanding its fact-checking project with Facebook. We are known for the high quality of our journalism from across Africa and we will be leveraging our unparalleled network of bureaus and journalists on the continent to combat misinformation.”
Eric Mugendi, Managing Editor from Pesa Check who will provide fact-checking services in Swahili and English added: “Social networks like Facebook haven't just changed how Africans consume the news.
“Social media is often the primary access to digital content or the 'Internet' for many Africans. They shape our perceptions of the world, our public discourse, and how we interact with public figures. This project helps us dramatically expand our fact-checking to debunk claims that could otherwise cause real-world harm.”
“The project helps to respond more quickly and directly. We're seeing real positive results in our interactions with both publishers and the public itself. The project also helps us fact-checks reach a far larger audience than we would otherwise. This has helped us better understand the information vacuum and other viral dynamics that drive the spread of false information in Africa. Our growing impact is a small but tangible contribution to better informed societies in Africa.”
Caroline Anipah, Programme Officer, Dubawa (Ghana) added: “Dubawa is excited to be in Ghana where the misinformation and disinformation have become widespread as a result of technological advancement and increasing internet penetration. Dubawa intends to raise the quality of information available to the public with the aim of curbing the spread of misinformation and disinformation and promoting good governance and accountability.”
Supporting the expansion to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea Conakry and Cote d’Ivoire Derek Thomson, editor-in-chief of the France 24 Observers, said: “Our African users are constantly sending us questionable images and messages they’ve received via social media, asking us ‘Is this true? Can you check it?’ It’s our responsibility as fact-checking journalists to verify the information that’s circulating and get the truth back out there. Participating in the Facebook program helps ensure that our fact-checks are reaching the people who shared the false news in the first place.”
(Source; African News)