At least 60 participants have turned up for a two-day workshop held at Torit Vision Hotel in Eastern Equatoria State capital Torit from 07 – 08 June 2022.

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.