Over 200 experts from countries such as Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Mauritius, and Libya were represented, signifying the growth and reach of the Africa Facts network since the previous and inaugural Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya last year.
As a long-time partner of Africa Check, KAS Media Africa is proud to have been part of this gathering that allowed for the sharing of important knowledge and tools to overcome and address common challenges in the fact checking community.
Some key issues that were spoken to include how to effectively tackle misinformation and disinformation in difficult regions such as conflict areas and those with limited access to data. The question of what Artificial Intelligence (AI) means for fact-checkers – particularly when AI is continuing to evolve at an exponential rate – was also tackled from various angles. Participants highlighted both the perils and the benefits of engaging with AI to do their work. Fact-checking during election times was a hot topic largely due to the many countries that went to the polls this year. The question of ethical journalism practices was a common thread throughout the discussions especially where collaborative journalism was engaged for cross-border fact-checking.
The Summit culminated in the Africa Facts Awards that recognise important fact-checking work on the continent. Moussa Ngom of La Maison Des Reporters and Laureline Savoye of Le Monde Afrique won this in this year’s “Fact Check of the Year by a Working Journalist” category at the ceremony. They were recognised for their investigative piece on the infiltration of security forces during the political demonstrations that took place in Dakar in March 2021 and June 2023.
In the professional fact-checkers category, the winners were James Okong'o and Mary Kulundu of AFP Fact Check. Their work shone a spotlight on the potential harm to human rights following the misidentification by Kenyan police of protesters on social media when attempting to suppress criticism of how they (the police) handled the March 2023 demonstrations. Civilians were protesting against the high cost of living and general elections held in 2022.
