The candidates made it through a competitive interview conducted by a selection committee from #defyhatenow South Sudan with support from the Human Resource Department. The quadruple, drawn mainly from the media and academic fraternities, include Ghai Aketch, Beatrice Amude Paulino, Jibi Moses, and Ochaya Jackson.

But far from names, there is more to know about the fellows, professionally and academically.

Ghai Aketch is a news reporter with Sawa Sawa Network. He covers stories on environment, youth, education, peace implementation, and humanitarian situations in South Sudan.

Before joining Fact-checking and Digital Rights Fellowship, Aketch worked as a photographer and technical studio operator for KU-TV Kenya. He also worked for Jhpiego-John Hopkins University affiliate as a supervisor for outreach programs.

Additionally, he volunteered for humanitarian organizations, working as an English language teacher in various refugee camps in Uganda. His work experience in the humanitarian sector has helped him better understand issues affecting communities and the role of digital media in storytelling, healing, and peace-building.

Beatrice Amude Paulino is a media monitor at 211 Check, #defyhatenow South Sudan. She is a working journalist and a member of the South Sudanese Female Journalist Network (FJN).

Beatrice is creative, has research abilities, is adaptable and eager to learn, and has excellent communication skills.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from the University of Juba and an Advanced Certificate in Journalism from the South Sudanese Media Development Institute (MDI).

Jibi Moses is an administrator, public health practitioner, and humanitarian with five years of experience. Moses is also a skilled researcher and certified fact-checker. He describes himself as a creative, resourceful, and flexible individual able to adapt to changing priorities while maintaining a positive attitude and strong work ethic. He’s a clear and logical communicator who can establish rapport with supervisors, colleagues, and individuals to achieve organizational and personal goals.

Moses graduated with a Bachelor of Public Administration from Kampala International University. With an Advanced Certificate in Public health from Ristal Institute Juba. He currently works as a program manager for Junub Youth Action Network (JYAN).

Ochaya Jackson Amos is a University of Juba student pursuing a Bachelor of Art in Development Communication. He is a certified Fact-Checker and has been a media practitioner. Jackson is also interested in research, and information technology, which he is passionate about.

Emmanuel Bida, the program coordinator, said fellows would be placed in either 211 Check or SafetyComm South Sudan to undertake practical activities around fact-checking and digital rights issues. The offices are at Hai Malakal and Munuki in the capital Juba.

He said fellows would also undertake extensive social media monitoring to spot dis/misinformation, hate speech, and cyber threats and respond in a prescribed format. Fellows will also investigate dis/misinformation campaigns, scams, and hoaxes and, where necessary, draft and publish reports.

Other activities that would be undertaken during the fellowship program, Bida said, range from report writing to submission of relevant reports as may be required by the supervisor.

“The fellows will be required to conduct high-impact research and write briefs, reports,

responses, blogs, articles, and other documents around fact-checking and digital rights issues. They will convene stakeholders working on fact-checking and digital rights issues to

enable an exchange of ideas and facilitate learning from each other,” he said.

The fellowship is being carried out in the context of the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF) with support from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).

It is also part of the commitment by #defyhatenow South Sudan to empower citizens on digital rights and countering disinformation and misinformation that scale back societal progress.

For more information, read the concept note: https://bit.ly/33t7h6s

If selected, you will gain knowledge and skills used by professional fact-checkers and help start a fact-checking community in your area or workplace.  

Applicants from across South Sudan and beyond are welcome to apply.

The overarching objective of this three-month training is to strengthen participant capacity on the promotion of veracity and accuracy of the information in the public domain in South Sudan.

The training is scheduled to take place from Monday, 03 October to Friday 16th December 2022 between 02:00 pm and 04:00 pm CAT, two days a week via Google Meet.

During the three-month training, trainees will learn:

– Fact-checking basics: Understanding fact-checking methodology & taxonomy, and fact-checking techniques using a range of specialized tools.

– Audience Engagement: Understanding how to create unique topics/themes for specific audiences, and how to build audience engagement and feedback systems.

– Production systems: Understanding how to design editorial/research workflow processes, tooling and staffing strategies, for streamlined integration into an organization’s wider production processes.

– Policy frameworks: Understanding how to apply international ethical and professional guidelines for quality assurance and industry accreditation, with special emphasis on applying the International Fact-Checking Network’s (IFCN) Code of Principles.

Are you eligible? Applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. You must be able and willing to commit to attending all the virtual classes and completing all lesson assignments during the three months.

2. You must have access to a laptop/computer or smartphone with internet connectivity, to be able to participate in online classes and benefit from the digital mentorship and electronic resources.

3. You must be based in South Sudan or elsewhere, with demonstrable local experience/insights.

4. You must be fluent in English, as this will be the language of instruction and mentorship. Your fact-checks may be produced/published in another language, but translated copies must be made available in English.

5. You must commit to sharing your new skills and insights within your organisation and wider journalistic/research fraternity, by demonstrating your projects and techniques to peers.

6. You demonstrate a commitment to free and independent media in your professional career.

Upon ‘graduation,’ you will be awarded a certificate of completion and inducted into 211 Check’s community of professional fact-checkers. Here is the training syllabus: https://bit.ly/3IgY6EA

The deadline for applications is 09 September 2022 at 4:30 PM

The phones were supplied by Internews under the Rooted in Trust project, an initiative aimed at gathering COVID-19 and health-related rumours and countering misinformation on critical health issues.

Beneficiaries were mainly participants in the workshop organized by #defyhatenow South Sudan through its two flagship projects 211 Check and SafetyComm in partnership with Internews under the Rooted in Trust project.

Speaking during the event on Tuesday, John Ngor Arok, #defyhatenow South Sudan Project Lead,  advised beneficiaries to use the gadgets appropriately.

“Take care and make good use of the phone. This is just like your personal property except that we would require you to send us rumours for the next three months for us to assess whether to grasp the concept of what you were taught or not,” Arok said.

He encouraged the participants to send at least five rumours in a week or one per day as the organization supplies data bundles on a monthly basis.

Emmanuel Bida Thomas, 211 Check Coordinator, told participants to practice what they learned and reach out in case of any setback.

Beneficiaries were given three tip lines through which they can share rumours from their various geolocations. The tip lines include WhatsApp, Google Form, and SMS.

Meanwhile, the trainees hailed #defyhatenow South Sudan and its partner organization Internews for the training and appealed for the training to be extended in all states and administrative areas in South Sudan.

This, they said, could help sensitize citizens outside the capital Juba to make informed decisions on critical health-related information.

The training was one of the many being undertaken by #defyhatenow South Sudan across different states in the country. So far, the organization conducted similar training in three states; Jonglei, Eastern Equatoria, and Central Equatoria under the Rooted in Trust project.

The Rooted in Trust 2.0 project in South Sudan is funded by the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAUD-BHA) through Internews.

It aims to respond to rumours, misinformation, and fake news that shape negative public perceptions of the COVID-19 response in South Sudan.

The first session of the workshop trained participants on health misinformation, fact-checking, information verification, and cyber safety for media practitioners from different parts of the state.

The successive session on 8th June 2022 targeted healthcare workers, religious leaders, and members of civil society organizations who were trained on rumour management, fact-checking, and cyber safety.

The workshop was organized by #DefyHateNowEA through its 211check and SafetyComm projects with support from Internews and the National Communication Authority.

Speaking after the workshop, Emmanuel Bida, 211check coordinator, hailed attendees for being participatory throughout the sessions adding that the workshop was a huge success.

“We had two fruitful workshop days in Torit and we sincerely thank participants for honouring our invitation to share experience in rumour management and internet safety. The impressive feedback we received indicates that the workshop was a huge success,” he said.

One of the participants said during a post-workshop assessment that he learned how to be safe on the internet and spot real news from fake news.

“This workshop was very productive, it has helped me personally learn how to use social media safely,” the participant said.

“I also learned how to verify misinformation and how to be careful when using social media,” added the participant.

The post-workshop evaluation forms filled by the attendees indicate more than half of the participants suggest the extension of the training to other parts of Torit and Eastern Equatoria as a whole.

The two-day workshop was the first of its kind organized by #DefyHateNowEA through 211 check and SafetyComm projects in partnership with the National Communication Authority.