African Fact-Checkers Unite to Combat Cross-Border Disinformation Networks
The network boasts over 350 institutional members and is currently recruiting partners for several major transnational initiatives.
ACCRA, Ghana— The African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA), the continent's largest network of fact-checkers, is joining forces with other organizations to combat transnational disinformation at the Africa Facts Summit this week in Accra, writes Winston Mwale.
The summit, co-hosted by Africa Check, Dubawa and FactSpace West Africa, emphasizes the need for cross-border collaboration as false information increasingly transcends national boundaries.
"Disinformation does not respect national borders. Lies and other misleading information spread faster and further than individual country-based fact-checking organisations can counter it," according to a statement from AFCA.
AFCA's chief coordinator, Bilal Tairou, is leading the organization's delegation and exploring ways to establish subnational and broader cross-border coalitions to enhance the sustainability and impact of frontline fact-checkers.
The network boasts over 350 institutional members and is currently recruiting partners for several major transnational initiatives.
These include projects focused on the Alliance of African States, exiled media support, and fact-checking in hostile environments.
Summit speakers stressed that fact-checkers must "go beyond just fact-checking, to investigate inauthentic amplification or dissemination and other manipulation of weaponised content."
Established in 2020 with UNESCO support, AFCA provides various resources to fact-checking organizations across Africa, including:
- Seed grants and technical incubation for new organizations
- Project grants for established initiatives
- Peer mentorship fellowships
- Free technical training
- Access to the latest technological tools
The AFCA Incubator is accepting applications from fact-checking organizations seeking to improve their editorial product, audience engagement, or business strategies.
Participants receive one-on-one mentoring and seed funding.
Code for Africa serves as the custodial secretariat for AFCA, which receives support from global partners including the EU, USAID, and major technology platforms such as Google, Meta, and TikTok.