Living in a digital era means that fake news and misinformation can be easily created and spread in a matter of seconds. We have compiled a list of African fact-checking organisations that are rigorously working to curb the spread of fake news, misinformation and disinformation on various platforms.

• Africa Check is Africa’s first independent fact-checking organisation established in 2012 to promote accuracy in public debate and the media in Africa. Africa Check identifies important public statements, interrogates the best available evidence and publishes fact-checking reports to guide public debate. You can read their reports, spot checks, factsheets and guides on their website. Africa Check has fact-checkers in four countries: teams in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal.

Africa Check has launched a new programme to reach more people with accurate information.

• Dubawa established in 2018, is a West African independent verification and fact-checking project, initiated by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).  It has a presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia. Dubawa’s mission is to institute a culture of truth and verification in public discourse and journalism through strategic partnerships between the media, government, civil society organisations, technology giants and the public.

Dubawa sets the record straight.

• Congo Check established in 2018, is the first media group specialising in fact-checking in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their aim is to fight misinformation through verification and also follow up on promises made by leaders.

Image: CongoCheck website

• Ghana Fact is a project by FactSpace West Africa established in 2019 and aimed at curbing the spread of disinformation on traditional and social media. As Ghana’s independent digital fact-checking project, the platform seeks to target and correct the spread of false or misleading claims or statements on social networks and messaging platforms and in public discourse.

Ghana Check fact checks a live presidential address.

• Namibia Fact Check was established in 2019 in response to a perceived rise in political disinformation and propaganda in Namibian online and social media political spaces since 2017.

Youth activists participated in the Namibia Fact Check training on fact-checking and social media verification. Image: Facebook

• Pesa Check was established in 2016 and was initially focused on verifying the financial and other statistical numbers quoted by public figures in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. PesaCheck is now Africa’s largest fact-checking platform with full-time fact-checkers in 12 countries in both East and West Africa. The platform tracks political promises by politicians, helps unpack budget and census data and builds machine learning/artificial intelligence tools to help automate verification.

Pesa Check’s myth-busting posters.

• UDEME is a social accountability project established in 2016 by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ). It is designed to hold the Nigerian government accountable for the manner in which funds are released for capital, constituency and ecological projects are spent. UDEME tracks these projects and writes investigative reports about the successes and/or failures of these projects.

Udeme’s logo.

• In 2020, a group of Nigerian students established People’s Check, an independent fact-checking and verification organisation that verifies sensitive and controversial information found online and amplifies the culture of truth in Nigeria. The platform will serve as a training ground for young fact-checkers and journalists in Nigeria that will shape journalism.

The People’s Check logo.

• Zim Fact, established in 2018, is Zimbabwe’s first national, independent and non-partisan fact-checking platform. Their focus is on the announcements by public officials, media reports as well as any user-generated content that draws widespread public attention and, therefore, has a real or potential impact on communities.

ZimFact.

• News Verifier Africa is a non-profit organisation established in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to combat viral coronavirus misinformation.

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