The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), in partnership with the ECOWAS Commission and GIZ, has commenced a set of training workshops for journalists across seven West African countries on information integrity.
The series of two-day intensive workshops began on September 22 in The Gambia, before moving to Sierra Leone. The workshop will continue to Ghana, and later to Togo, Benin, Cape Verde, and Senegal. In total, 315 journalists representing state-owned and private broadcast outlets, newspapers, and online platforms will benefit from the programme.
The training focuses on advanced fact-checking techniques, open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools, artificial intelligence applications for tracking misinformation patterns, and digital security practices. Participants are also building capacity in conflict-sensitive reporting, peace journalism, media and information literacy (MIL), and human rights investigation methods.
The training aims to strengthen the ability of journalists to counter disinformation and anti-democratic narratives while promoting ethical and responsible journalism. The programme is also providing opportunities for participants to network and share strategies for tackling misinformation and promoting peace, democracy, and inclusive development in the region.
The training workshop forms part of the implementation plan under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in December 2023 between ECOWAS and MFWA to build collaboration in democratic values, media development and freedom, human rights and peace in West Africa. The initiative also builds on successful sessions previously held in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as high-level engagements with experts and heads of government-owned TV stations at ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja in September 2024 .
The training is designed to address the growing challenge of misinformation and disinformation in West Africa. The overall objective is to ensure that journalists and media practitioners are equipped with essential skills to promote information integrity, counter harmful narratives, and contribute towards achieving the ECOWAS Vision 2050 goals of fostering peace and security, enhancing economic integration, strengthening democratic governance, promoting social inclusion, and advancing sustainable environmental action.
“The West Africa subregion has been one of the main targets of industrial disinformation and anti-democratic narratives. There is an urgent need to address wide and fast-spreading disinformation,” said Kojo Impraim, PhD, Director for Media for Peace and Social Cohesion Programme at the MFWA.
“This all-important convening of journalists across the subregion is part of the interventions that seek to ensure that information hygiene is preserved by all stakeholders. The series of trainings is expected to strengthen the knowledge and skills of journalists and media houses to use their platforms to combat harmful contents and pervasive anti-democratic narratives in West Africa.”
Through this initiative, the MFWA, ECOWAS Commission and GIZ hope to foster a more resilient media landscape that upholds information integrity and reinforces democratic values across West Africa.
