By: Mama A. Touray
FactCheck Center The Gambia organized a two-day Fact-Checking and Verification Masterclass for journalists and journalism students in The Gambia yesterday.
The training aims to serve as a catalyst to build and enhance the fight against fake news and misinformation in The Gambia and beyond.
Furthermore, the training aims to expose participants to online verification and geolocation tools for verifying the origin of photos and videos, as well as understanding the types of false information, how and why it spreads, and how to identify and debunk it.
Omar Saibo Camara, former Executive Director of FactCheck Center, stated in his opening remarks that misinformation and disinformation are significant global challenges.
He added, “It is a world-class problem, touching on democracy, human rights, societal issues, health, and climate change. It affects every aspect of our lives today. Therefore, for journalists and aspiring journalists, going beyond their daily journalistic work is crucial, and that’s where fact-checking comes in.”
He informed participants that media houses he had encountered outside the country all have fact-checking departments in their newsrooms to verify information before publication or broadcast.
“I hope this training will inspire you to shift your focus from traditional journalism to fact-checking, as fact-checking is becoming more compelling than regular journalism,” he said.
Majula Samura, a final-year journalism student and participant, highlighted the training’s importance, stating that fact-checking is crucial for everyone, especially journalists and journalism students.
She emphasized that the training will help her better distinguish between misinformation and disinformation and understand fact-checking more effectively.
Bubacarr Gaye, also a final-year journalism student at the University of The Gambia and a participant, expressed his expectations of gaining a deeper understanding of fact-checking and verification tools for online information and news.
“As a journalism student, fact-checking is fundamental because much of the information shared is not verified. This training will enhance our knowledge of how to fact-check, learn about verification tools, and identify misinformation and disinformation,” he added.
