Journalist in Bamenda trained on Fact-checking and verification of sources.



 About 25 journalist have been shooled by Draufsicht Bamenda on fact-checking, investigating sources of information before sharing to the public.The training took place under the umbrella of Church Center Makon on 19 February 2020 with strict respect of Covid-19 measures.

According to the facilitator, the community have placed their trust in Journalist for information and inorder for media practitioners to maintain that trust, they have to be sure of the information they put out. The social Media has played a huge part in the proliferation of fake news which has  caused conflicts, wars and led to the  lost of lives. Consequently,  Vianney Forewah a Digital Security expert  and one of the facilitators at the capacity building workshop  walked the participants through a practical session shared in groups after schooling them on what fact Checking and the  verification of sources entails both offline and online.  



Group Session.

 When asked some of the tools that can be used to counteract fake news online by journalist he said:  

"We can use reverse imaging, cross section evaluation to see how well an information has evolved through the different  media platforms.We can also use tools that search for algorithms establishing if a photo or a video has been uttered in anyway by any tool online".


Participants at the end of the workshop believed the knowledge gained will go a long way to enhance their work. Kema Fru, blogger at KEMAFRU NEWS AGENCY  says the  training has equipped him with skills and tools on how to go about fact Checking and getting the right information from the right source.

" I must confess  that I  have learnt alot when it comes to fact Checking of information and their sources. For example; for a website you can check if it's secure using the hypertext transfer protocol if it has an S to show that it is secured or not".


To this freelance Journalist Tantan Patience, the training comes at a time when there is  a lot of fake news spreading both online and offline shared by many  without checking if it's true or not and the consequences it might bring.

  " I think it is very important for us to know how to check the kind of information we share, how true the information is and its effects on people around us and the society  at large.It has been very enriching and we should learn to #ThinkB4UClick"


The coordinator of Draufsicht  Mr Dzebam Godlove says equipping journalist with skills in fact Checking will go a long way to reduce fake news in communities.

"We live in dangerous times when anybody anywhere can post anything on Social media and keeps the population derailed. It is important that journalist are equipped with competences that can help them verify whatever they share on Social media because at the end of the day it's the name of the journalist that it's on it. So journalist should be responsible for what they write and say and I believe having competences in fact Checking will help their work".

  


Draufsicht Bamenda is an organization of young adults thinking locally and acting globally with their aim on sustainable education. It aims at supporting communities  especially young people through audio-visual means with the use of talents in poetry, documentary, films to help people contribute to make their environments better.

         



PECHUQUI LAURATA.


   


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