DUBAWA is ready to have interaction younger college students, professionals, on-line content material creators, and most people in constructive discussions about fact-checking, Media and Data Literacy (MIL), and elections as a part of its annual #WeekForTruth marketing campaign.
According to its mission to advertise the tradition of fact and a part of the International Media and Data Literacy Week, DUBAWA will start its #WeekForTruth marketing campaign with help from the Nationwide Endowment for Democracy (NED) from Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, to Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024.
Since its inception in 2019, over 300 volunteers have participated within the marketing campaign. In 2023 alone, over 100 volunteers have been skilled and deployed to advertise media and data literacy throughout the West African area. By 2021, DUBAWA expanded the initiative past Nigeria to 4 different Anglophone West African nations the place the organisation operates: Ghana, The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Additionally, volunteers in Senegal will unfold consciousness of MIL in French, heralding DUBAWA’s entry into West Africa’s Francophone nations.
This 12 months, the sixth version of the week-long marketing campaign will use the next hashtags: #WeekForTruth, #DubawaChecks, #DubawaFacts, #BackToSchool, and #YoungVoiceForTruth.
Occasions and actions inside this week embody:
- On-line media marketing campaign throughout Fb, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn all week lengthy.
- A two-day outreach (Oct. 28, 2024, and Oct. 29, 2024) by our workforce and volunteers in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Senegal, and Liberia to go to colleges for a 30-minute to 1-hour discuss on important considering and tips on how to work together with data earlier than sharing.
- A one-hour X house on “The Position of Media and Data Literacy in Safeguarding Elections in Africa” on Oct. 31, 2024.
- Quizzes and video games for our viewers on DUBAWA and MIL throughout our social media pages.
Akintunde Babatunde, the Programme Director on the Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Growth (CJID)/DUBAWA, stated this 12 months’s theme underscores each the alternatives and the dangers rising applied sciences reminiscent of Generative Synthetic Intelligence (AI) and the brand new technology of digital content material creators on public-interest data have.
“As we have a good time Media and Data Literacy (MIL) Week, we’re proud to replicate on DUBAWA’s substantial contributions to combating disinformation. By in-depth evaluation and rigorous fact-checking, we’ve skilled hundreds of journalists and media consultants in figuring out disinformation and utilizing digital instruments to boost their work. This 12 months’s theme, ‘The New Digital Frontiers of Data: Media and Data Literacy for Public Curiosity Data,’ highlights the transformative impression of rising applied sciences reminiscent of Generative Synthetic Intelligence (AI) and the brand new technology of digital content material creators on public-interest data. It underscores each the alternatives and the dangers these developments current.”
Mr Babatunde additionally hailed the DUBAWA ChatBot and DUBAWA Audio, two AI instruments created by CJID, as confirmed modern interventions in tackling misinformation on the grassroots within the area.
“We’re notably enthusiastic about CJID’s lineup of programmes this 12 months, together with the reintroduction of our digital and AI instruments for debunking disinformation. We consider these instruments will turn out to be important within the fingers of all these working to sanitise the data ecosystem and safeguard the general public curiosity,” he added.
About DUBAWA
DUBAWA is a West African unbiased verification and fact-checking challenge initiated by the Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Growth (CJID) and supported by essentially the most influential newsrooms and civic organisations in West Africa. It goals to amplify the tradition of fact in public discourse, public coverage, and journalistic observe. DUBAWA has a presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal, and The Gambia.
Signed
Akintunde Babatunde
Director of Programmes, DUBAWA/CJID
