Daisi Omokungbe, publisher of DailyAgent, has been selected for a fact-checking fellowship by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).
A statement by the ICIR said the fellows were selected under its “Countering Misinformation and Promoting Media Literacy Project”, supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Abuja.
It aims to reduce the dissemination and impact of misinformation in Nigeria by promoting media literacy and responsible information sharing among citizens.
“For this programme, we have carefully chosen 30 journalists from various Nigerian media organizations to participate in the project, which commences with a 3-day capacity-building programme to be held in Abuja in October 2023,” the statement reads.
“This programme aims to enhance their skills and offer financial support, enabling them to produce critical fact-checking content. Ultimately, our objective is to promote responsible journalism and elevate Nigeria’s overall quality of information.
“Following their training, these journalists will be responsible for conducting similar training sessions within their respective media organizations, ensuring a sustainable impact among their colleagues and fostering a ripple effect of knowledge dissemination”.
The ICIR, an independent, non–profit media organization that aims to promote good governance in Nigeria through robust, investigative journalism that holds power to account, has in the last five years worked to build the capacity for hundreds of journalists to undertake investigative, data-driven reporting, thus strengthening accountability and engendering effective service delivery for the welfare of the citizens, particularly at the sub-regional level.
In 2020, during the infodemic that came with COVID-19, the ICIR established FactCheckHub which has grown to become one of Nigeria’s most credible verification platforms, working to increase its capacity, visibility and impact in Nigeria.
During the fellowship, Omokungbe will work to gain new skills and knowledge in emerging trends in fact-checking and dealing with misinformation in the era of artificial intelligence.
After the fellowship, he will deploy his new skills and knowledge to grow DailyAgent Check, the fact-checking arm of DailyAgent launched two months ago and train his team on critical fact-checking to promote responsible journalism and credible information for peace and development (CIPD) in Nigeria.
