The Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, has held a training session for journalists, aimed to enhance their efforts in countering fake news during upcoming Edo and Ondo state elections.
Acting Director of CDD, Dr. Sa’eed Husaini who was speaking during the Breakfast Meeting hosted by CDD in collaboration with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Abuja on Wednesday, said, “provide feedback for us on the Check by Meedan, areas where it’s not working, let us know, because there’s still some changes that we can do.”
Husaini urged journalists and the public to utilize this technology to fact-check and authenticate claims made by key political figures and other influential individuals in Nigeria’s political landscape.
Also speaking, CDD Fact Checking Lead, Armsfree Ajanaku, Against the backdrop of recent incidents where official communications had been mired in misinformation, the imperative for journalistic vigilance was underscored. Disinformation,
it was emphasized, poses a grave threat to the democratic process, potentially eroding public trust and undermining the integrity of elections.
“Our focus is on how to use an innovative tool, known as the Meedan Check to enhance our countering disinformation efforts.
” As journalists, and professionals with the responsibility to inform the public, we cannot underestimate the threat posed by mis/disinformation.
” Misinformation and disinformation work in scattered and disorganized ways to undermine robust participation in key activities, which are at the heart of the process of consolidating democracy. The scale of the challenge is massive, and no one stakeholder working alone can effectively address a challenge of this scale.
“Only yesterday, we saw how even official communication from the highest office in the land could result in the misinformation of citizens.
” There is a plethora of other instances, which make it imperative for us as journalists and information managers to be vigilant and circumspect when we share information.
” Disinformation and every other form of information disorder are capable of sparking chain reactions, which could either lead to break down of law and order or distrust in democratic institutions. Disinformation could be the reason voters stay away completely from casting their ballots in elections,” Ajanaku said.
On her part, Chioma Iruke who led a hands-on training session demonstrating how to effectively utilize the Check by Meedan tool. said, ‘One of the reasons for this breakfast meeting was to work with journalists because they are in the field and they know what is happening.
“The check by median works in two ways. It is enabled for WhatsApp and Facebook, so it is for us to input it with information so that we can dispel fake news. “Sometimes it doesn’t get the right people, sometimes it gets the right people. Sometimes as journalists, we do stories.”
“In the process of trying to break the story, we find out that the story is fake, and at that time, we have to come and start using a disclaimer or apologizing. So that is one of the reasons for checked by Maiden, to enable us to fact-check before sending outi,”she said.
