By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Omar Camara, 28, who, on the 20th of August 2021, was inspired by his exposure to misinformation or information disorder, co-founded the Gambia’s first-ever fact-checking organization that works on countering information disorder and named it Fact Check Centre — The Gambia
Born in the Central River Region of the Gambia in Bansang, Omar ‘Saibou’ Camara is a passionate youth leader and an activist who has worked both in the government institution and civil society areas.
After some productive years as a youth activist and student leader, Omar Saibou was motivated to come up with a unique project when he was working at the Centre for Research and Policy Development. His desire, as a young person, was to come up with something unique that will play a hugely significant role in the affairs of the people.
“What gave birth to Fact-Check Centre – The Gambia was my exposure to the issue around fake news through a project when I was with the Centre for Research and Policy Development. There was a day when my boss shared with me an article. When I read through that, I discovered terminologies like fake news, so I conducted further research on fake news and fact-checking. That was the time I developed a concept through support from an organization in Nigeria that wanted to extend a project in the Gambia,” he explained.
Subsequently, Saibou began undergoing several pieces of training and engagement and then worked with them for six months, which furthered his exposure and broadened his horizon in fact-checking.
The lack of fact-checking organizations in the country had further fuelled the young Omar’s interest in coming up with the Fact Check Centre to counter misinformation that could shape public opinions.
“So, I decided to come up with this concept from a civil society perspective that will focus on countering disinformation. I invited a few friends on board to join me as a co-founder so that we could work around the organization. This was when the December 2021 presidential election was looming, so there was a need for an organization to counter misinformation.”
The Fact Check Centre – The Gambia then became a youth-led organization established with the primary aim of tackling information disorder in the Gambia and hate speeches.
Since its establishment in 2021, Saibou and his team have been conducting Fact Checking on public claims and by media houses. However, according to him, they only fact-check claims based on relevance and not every piece of information.
Despite the importance of his organization in the Gambia, Omar told The Fatu Network that they still face immeasurable challenges in accessing information from their sources. This, he uttered, is heavily hampering their efforts in checking facts on the information.
Misinformation and fake news have been an earnest problem that challenges the peaceful coexistence of people in a country. With everyone having access to social media to post whatever favours them, the dangers of giving out false information about public officials have caused hatred and hate speech in the Gambia. It has as well caused a loss of public trust in certain public officials and figures.
Just like corruption, false information or fake news is an insurmountable battle to fight against in the country with the presence of social media. Despite the seemingly impossible quest, Omar Saibou and his Fact Checkers are hell-bent on making sure that the Gambia is fake news free.
“As a young organization, what we want to accomplish is to see the Gambia free from information disorder by ensuring that we establish a strategic fact-checking initiative but also create awareness and launch advocacies to engage young people in how to protect themselves from being victims of misinformation.”
Saibou’s aspiration as the Executive Director of the Fact Check Centre – The Gambia is to expand his office to other neighbouring countries such as Senegal, Bissau and surrounding countries in a few years.
