On Wednesday 12th of October, 2022, Dubawa Ghana in collaboration with US Embassy in Ghana organized a two day fact checking training for journalist in rural communities of Ghana, selected participants were taken through intensive and thorough training on how to fack check information that is being spread around to ascertain whether or not that particular information is true before putting it on their various websites or social media handles.
This is because most journalists have been sued and some taken as prisoners for not verifying pieces of information before letting it out to the public.
The leader of the project in Ghana Miss Caroline Anipa on one of the fact checking sessions disclosed that most often they organize such training for journalists in the bigger cities, but realized that most of the information that these people get is mostly from journalists in the rural communities and as such the training has to start from the grassroot.
The training was also mentored by two prestigious lecturers, Dr Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin the head of communication studies, University of Ghana and Mr Zakaria Tanko, lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism.
Mr Nathan Gadugah, editor at Dubawa Ghana also stressed the need for journalists to use the tools and equipment that are primarily at their disposal to identify fake news and be able to fact check it out to avoid putting their carrier as a journalist at stake.
During the training, it was said that in fact checking you have to be patient because sometimes it takes a lot of time to discover the truth, and continue that this project is also going on in other parts of Africa as well.
The training will help reduce fake publications by Journalists and other actors in the area.
Padfm.com.gh/ Bashiru Naila
