Journalists from African press agencies present in Rabat for a training seminar in Fact-checking from April 22 to 26, 2024, created on Thursday a network of journalists fact-checkers from press agencies African countries with Jean Bedel Onkan Ndanla from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as coordinator.
Present in Rabat from April 22 to 26, 2024 for a fact-checking training seminar, around twenty journalists from different African press agencies created a network of fact-checking journalists from African press agencies on Thursday.
Jean Bedel Onkan Ndanla of Congo-Kinshasa was elected coordinator of this network with Mohamed Reda Aoufoussi of the Moroccan Press Agency (MAP) as secretary general.
The ceremony was attended by the president of the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies (FAAPA), Faoud Arif.
All participants in this training seminar are members of the network. According to the network coordinator, awareness of the danger of fake news in an Africa changing on several levels challeng
es journalists from FAAPA member press agencies.
‘The objective of this network of fact-checkers is to combine efforts, exchange experiences and constantly share information with a view to fighting effectively and efficiently against fake news which has become a cancer that must be treat before its metastasis,’ indicated Jean Bedel Onkan Ndanla.
The coordinator added that press agencies are called upon today in a new dynamic to recommend innovative approaches in order to be able to support the frantic evolution of information systems and to adapt to the profound changes taking place in the world of media.
For Mr. Bedel, these agencies must attach fundamental importance to the exchange of experiences and know-how, to face new challenges and the phenomenon of fake news, a real scourge for the media sector.
He called on journalists to be more vigilant in the process of collecting, processing and disseminating information, through fact-checking techniques which have become essential.
‘The creation of the net
work of fact-checking journalists appears to be a noble obligation,’ concluded the coordinator. A ceremony for handing out certificates to participants took place in the presence of FAAPA President Fouad Arif.
Source: Burkina Information Agency