Dubawa

Dubawa in Brief

DUBAWA is a West African independent verification and fact-checking project, initiated by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and supported by the most influential newsrooms and civic organisations in West Africa to help amplify the culture of truth in public discourse, public policy, and journalistic practice. It has a presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia.

Because it is a “distinct project”, Dubawa obtains its legal and operational powers through its parent non-profit organisation, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID). CJID is headquartered in Nigeria with registration number CAC/IT/NO 69519 by the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria (CAC). CJID was founded in 2014, to promote a truly independent media landscape that advances fundamental human rights, good governance and accountability in West Africa through investigative journalism, open data and civic technology.

Dubawa operates under a non-partisan policy, accepting only to uphold the values of accuracy, balance, transparency, verification, independence, and accountability in all its operations. We are guided, in all our practice, by the five principles of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN).

Dubawa’s mission statement 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.

The basic assumptions (which are integral to our theory of change) are that factual information enables people to make more informed choices in a democratic society and on other public interest issues. Therefore, providing verified information will likely promote good governance and accountability.

We also believe that truth and trust have been eroded in journalism owing largely to thinner investments and the competing forces of social media. If an independent media project provides factual information and builds the capacity of newsrooms through collaboration, the eroding trust in the media will be restored.

Project Objectives

  • Through media literacy articles, fact-checks, explainers, fact sheets and online/offline engagement, encourage a more engaged and information-literate citizenry who are capable of making informed decisions about issues that affect their development
  • Equip newsrooms with the skills and environment to make fact-checking and truth a norm in media houses through training and fellowships, so that eroding trust in media will be restored
  • Conduct research and build technological tools that adequately identify, analyse and counter information disorder, while building a body of knowledge around misinformation in the sub region.
  • Partner newsrooms and data-driven agencies to obtain and digitalise factual information on politics, economy/statistics and health so that Dubawa becomes the #1 hub for verified information in West Africa
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