The fact-checking organisation, Africa Check, has announced the opening of entries for the 10th edition of its African Fact-Checking Awards.
The continental award, the oldest award rewarding projects among other fact-checking organisations in Africa, was designed to honour student journalists, working journalists and professional fact-checkers across Africa for their distinguished works in fact-checking.
This announcement was in a press release by Dudu Mkhize, Africa Check’s Head of Outreach. She stated that fact-checking is crucial in strengthening democracy, enabling the public to make more informed decisions and holding those in power to account.
“The African Fact-Checking Awards is not just a celebration of excellence in fact-checking. They are a vital instrument for promoting fact-checking in Africa. By recognising and rewarding those who work hard in pursuit of accuracy, these awards encourage others to follow in their footsteps and upload the highest standards of fact-checking. In this way, the African Fact-Checking Awards help to build a culture of fact-checking in Africa, where access to verified information can be a challenge,” the press release reads.
The awards categories include; Fact-Check of the Year by a working Journalist, a professional Fact-Checker, and a student Journalist.
Vying awardees are expected to turn in their works which must have been published between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. These works should have been written based on a claim related to an African issue.
Winners in the working journalist and professional fact-checker category will earn US$3,000, and runners-up will receive $1,500 each. For the student journalist category, the winner will take home $2,000, and the runner-up $1,000.
In the 2022 African Fact-Checking Awards held in Kenya, DUBAWA’s Jonas Nyabor won the Fact Check of the Year under the Professional Fact-checker category.
For the category of a working Journalist, former DUBAWA fellow Kunle Adebajo from HumAngle, Nigeria, won the Fact Check of the Year award. Journalism students from the University of Mauritius, Vidyasharita Bumma, Kokeelavani Maureen and Sachita Gobeen, won the Fact Check of the Year by a Student.
The fact-checking organisation also announced that the application for its fellowship programme has commenced. The programme is set to groom fact-checkers and journalists using fact-checking tools, knowledge and skills to identify misinformation and disinformation and handle important data to investigate public claims.
The application is open to both anglophone and francophone journalists.
