Order or distort information promotes the manipulation of citizens and represents a danger to society. The means are legion: fake-news, special effects, disinformation. To fight against this scourge, several organizations and media specializing in Fact-Checking, have emerged. Among them, Dubawa . Initially established in Nigeria, this project has extended to several countries in West Africa: Ghana, Liberia, Gambia and Sierra Leone.
Cjid Web
The Dubawa principle consists in using several means of verification, including the "five principles of the international Fact-Checking network" . At first, the various actors ( journalists, fact-checkers, researchers ) analyze facts addressed by citizens or chosen within the editorial staff. They study the relevance of requests, their impact in a publication, ensure respect for equity, to show that there is no bias. They use several tools to certify the authenticity of the subjects and check the reliability of their sources. When writing the article or information, the Fact-Checker explains the context and the verification method, presents the evidence that supports it, then the publisher performs a final check-up before publishing.
Folarin Jamiu
The Dubawa method
The verification of information is based on a procedure that promotes well -defined sources: "named" (unlike anonymous sources), impartial, verifiable and multiple.
Sometimes verification is complicated, for example when access to certain information is blocked by a third party. Or when it comes to an opinion whose foundations are nebulous, difficult to verify. In this case, the Fact-Checkers explain in analysis articles why such an affirmation can influence, be misleading or being true.
The facts are verified on different broadcasting channels, including social networks. They are divided into several categories: true, partially true, false, partially false, "misleading" (in this case, either the context is vague, or the information is difficult or not verifiable). There are also various categories of facts on Facebook: data can be insufficient, words can arouse doubt about the true thought of their author, in particular when it is a political or religious context. The facts can also be mentioned "not eligible", to indicate that the content cannot be verified or may come from an opinion, or even "noted", meaning that the information has not been verified.
Cjid WebOptimize and promote Dubawa
Several systems are defined in order to promote and transmit Dubawa's lessons on Fact-Checking methods. In 2019, scholarships and training in the verification of the facts were put in . The explanations on information analysis techniques are disseminated in order to allow readers and Internet users to better disentangle the true from the false. Dubawa's development also adds several Fact-Checking offices to editorial staff. Researchers are working on digital tools creation projects capable of doing fact-checking. Recently, in Nigeria, Dubawa has developed Dubawa Chatbot , an artificial intelligence tool thanks to which citizens can submit facts to be checked by WhatsApp's messaging. He quickly answers questions since he is connected in real time to internet data.
Attached to the values of truth and transparency, the program Dubawa continues to develop to fight fake-new and disinformation. He became One of the most efficient Fact-Checking websites in West Africa.
