Over 100 trained Fellows will join experts in Yaounde from November 18 to 19, to discussing issues relating to promoting factchecking practice in Cameroon.
115! This figure represents the number of Fellows who have benefited from the Africa Factchecking Fellowship #AFFCameroon. The quarterly Fellowship funded by the German Federal Foreign Office is run in Cameroon by #defyhatenow an initiative of r0g_agency for Open Cultures and Critical Transformation in partnership with Civic Watch. #AFFCameroon seeks to promote knowledge of fact-checking, data journalism and digital rights amongst journalists, bloggers and content creators in Africa.
From November 18 to 19, 2022, all roads will lead to Hotel Djeuga Palace in Yaounde, where the first ever #AFFCameroon Conference will be holding with 300+ participants expected to grace the event. From #FactMatter237, through the different #AFFCameroon Cohorts 2 to 7, seasoned experts are also awaited to jointly review the growth of factchecking in the country, while seeking ways to foster collaborative actions toward the common ills of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation. We shall be hosting other factchecking hubs in Cameroon and South Sudan for experience sharing.
About the Africa Factchecking Fellowship – #AFFCaemroon
In January 2022, #defyhatenow initiated the Africa Fact-checking Fellowship – #AFFCameroon quarterly program, which aims to train media professionals in online fact-checking and hate speech detection. #AFFCameroon aims to promote fact-checking, data journalism and digital rights among journalists, bloggers and content creators in Africa. This initiative comes in an environment marked by a proliferation of misleading speech, fabrication of information, photos, videos, deep fake, troll sharing, creation of fake accounts, online scams, slanderous, hateful and dangerous speech on social media targeting individuals and/or inter-ethnic communities.
As at October 2022, a total of 155 Fellows residing in various regions of Cameroon have received technical, pedagogical and functional support for advanced information verification. The goal is to create a critical mass of fact checkers, information defenders, curbing online and offline hate speech and digital rights advocates. Presently, two alumni selected under the Far North Region are back and operating in their country, Chad.
In order for the work of these information professionals to have a greater impact, it is therefore important to harness the efforts of different actors in society on the one hand; on the other hand, to promote information verification practices and media and information literacy to a wider audience (especially within public and private organizations and institutions) in order to foster good governance and to enhance social trust. The fight against mis/disinformation is today a challenge for the promotion and preservation of freedom of expression and also of the press, the promotion of democracy and good governance based on Open Governance, the promotion of the responsible use of ICTs for harmonious and sustainable development.
Read success stories from past Fellows, trainers
The #AFFCameroon Conference is being held under the Distinguished Patronage of Cameroon’s Ministry of Communication; with support from UNESCO Multisector Office for Central Africa and Meta. Get full details of the Conference agenda, guests and activities here ; https://affconference.defyhatenow.org/
Feel free to register for plenary discussions and tailored masterclass : https://forms.gle/8SwdUYJeWbidpfw19
You can join also join the discussion online with the followsing hashtags:
#ActionContreIntox
# FactsMatter237
#AFFConference22
#AFFCameroon
#defyhatenow