Dubawa hosts a fact-checking workshop for journalists based in rural areas

Dubawa, a fact-checking and verification Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has held a two-day training to equip non-urban based journalists in the Bono, Ahafo and Bono East regions with skills to identify and address information disorder.

The workshop was to build the capacity of the participants with knowledge and the requisite tools to determine misinformation, disinformation and mal-information, to guard against inappropriate content and temptations of spreading and publishing falsehood.

Twenty journalists attended the training in Sunyani, which was supported by the United States (US) Embassy.

Speaking on the topic: “The ABC of Information Disorder,” Madam Caroline Anipah, the Dubawa Team Lead, implored media houses to adopt smart ways of debunking false information to effectively address information disorder.

Information disorder, she said, had led to misinterpretation, confusion and chaos characterising the information space.

She appealed to individuals, organisations and nations to be alert to the realities of the spread of information that could harm them.

“As journalists in the midst of all these nuances, our foremost thought or intent must be to the interest of the public,” Madam Anipah said.

She advised the journalists to be alert and cautious about impostor content, which occurred when a particular information was attributed to the image of an influential and credible personality, as well as manipulated or fabricated contents or videos.

Both misinformation and disinformation were disorders that took away public trust and could lead to apathy and trust of a news source.

Madam Anipah said some creators of information disorder, particularly disinformation, including originators, amplifiers and opportunists, were mostly motivated by foreign and political influence.

She encouraged participants to design approaches to fight false information and harmful content by fact checking, verifying whether the URL of a particular website was authentic, as well as the source of the information.