Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), has called for collaboration of stakeholders to strengthen capacities of journalists on fact-checking and verification to curb the menace of fake news in the society.
Mr Dapo Olorunyomi, Executive Director, PTCIJ, made this call in Abuja on Tuesday at a Stakeholders’ Meeting on Fake News Partnership.
He stressed the importance of fact-checking and verification of news in various media organisations’ newsrooms toward the 2019 general elections.
Olorunyomi said the collaborators, if keyed into the project would strengthen their capacity to be able to do verification and fact-checking and as well curb the menace of fake news in the society.
According to him, the whole process of fact-checking is trying to involve what you might call the platform, where collaborative newsrooms will work together to avoid fake news and its negative effect on the nation before, during and after the 2019 general elections.
”I think this is important because in the advent of new technologies, the phenomenon of fake news had being proven to be one of the greatest dangers to democracy.
”Somehow, it has worked in the United States, India and Brazil. Some of the killings after electoral violence in Kenya was attributed to this.
“There was also an attempt using fake news and in a concerted way to affect the lives of Nigerians.
“So, we think that if newsrooms can come together and strengthen their own capacity to be able to do verification and fact-checking, we will be able to help, build a defensive wall against misinformation,” he said.
Olorunyomi added that education was paramount to achieving the aim of fact-checking, hence the need for continuous collaborations with academic communities to inform the public on the importance of fact-checking and verification.
He also said that setting up fact-checking desks within every newsroom would help strengthen the capacity of reporters to understand that fact-checking was a little different from regular reporting.
In a similar view, Mr Joshua Olufemi, programme Director, PTCIJ, said fact-checking was important in the media and newsroom for effective dissemination of truthful, reliable and credible news.
Olufemi explained that fact-checking news would help amplify the culture of truth in public disclosure, public policy and journalistic partice.
He said PTCIJ governance and organisation structure was transparent as it operates with a clear work flow system, which indicates the role, responsibilities and deadlines that members should adhere to.
Olufemi further said that fact-checking and tracking news would deploy capacity building, technology to strengthen a culture of accountable journalism in newsrooms across.
He said analysing different forms of news and information would help in fact-checking to curb the spread of fake news in the society.
He added that developing a national response to misinformation by setting up fact-checking desks in media newsrooms and joint participation with other stakeholders on election project and training of journalists and researchers would help in fact-checking to eliminate fake news.
He, therefore, called for collaborations to promote knowledge sharing between partners as this would transcend the primary purpose of fact-checking and verification.
Also, Prof. Umaru Pate, a lecturer at the Bayero University of Kano, pledged to work with the centre to engage in joint research on fact-checking and fake news.
Pate also promised to work with National Universities Commission (NUC) to include Investigative Journalism into the curriculum of mass communication in Nigerian universities.
Also, Mrs Phoebe Arnold from Brazil stressed the need for social framework for passing across effective news for accountability in news dissemination.
NAN
https://www.africaprimenews.com/2018/07/11/news/nigeria-fg-launches-campaign-against-fake-news-assures-the-media-of-no-coercion-censorship/