The Nigerian Fact-Checkers Coalition (NFC) has opened its situation room ahead of the Osun State gubernatorial election scheduled to commence on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026.
The coalition, which comprises several media platforms in Nigeria, will closely monitor, identify, and verify misinformation and disinformation associated with the election. NFC will also publish explainers that would help the public understand the issues and underlying circumstances that may arise during the state election.
The situation rooms have commenced activities virtually since Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2026, and will remain active until Sunday, Aug 16, 2026. Meanwhile, a physical situation room opened in the Federal Capital Territory.
There will also be on-the-ground observation in Osun State by members of Africa Check and the Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab (DigiAfrica Lab) to support real-time fact-checking and correspondence with the NFC situation rooms.
Beyond verifying what is shared online, the Editor of DUBAWA, Kemi Busari, believes that fact-checking misinformation and disinformation in the Osun State gubernatorial election is crucial to the state’s security.
“The security situation in Osun leading up to this election has been concerning. We expect a lot of security-related misinformation and disinformation. We are already seeing some of them; some are even old or unrelated claims.
“Our hope is that people vote freely and based on their choices. At NFC, we will be working towards providing them with accurate information to make that decision,” he said.
Kemi added that the coalition has a team of trained fact-checkers and editors monitoring the information space, both online and offline, and will work with local partners to disseminate its reports.
Nigeria Editor at Africa Check and current National Coordinator of the Coalition, David Ajikobi, described how the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made it convenient to create inauthentic election content on a large scale and at a speed that poses a serious concern to fact-checkers and voters.
“AI has made it faster, cheaper, and easier to create convincing false or misleading election content, from synthetic images and cloned voices to AI-generated text that mimics official statements,” Ajikobi said.
“Social media can spread this content nationwide within minutes, often faster than it can be verified or corrected. Content that once required specialist skills can now be produced by almost anyone with a smartphone and access to AI tools,” he added.
He said this means Nigerians are likely to encounter more sophisticated election misinformation, making early detection, rapid verification, and credible correction more important than ever.
“This is why coordinated efforts like the NFC Situation Room are important in identifying false narratives before they gain wider traction,” he said.
The NFC encourages voters, journalists, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to verify election-related information before sharing it, particularly content designed to provoke fear, anger or confusion.
“We also want them to develop simple habits such as pausing before sharing unverified information, checking claims against credible sources, and recognising manipulated or AI-generated content. Ultimately, the goal is to help Nigerians navigate the information environment more confidently and make informed decisions based on verified information,” the national coordinator stated.
The coalition also encouraged members of the public to share any unverified information with the NFC Situation Rooms via WhatsApp at +2349030785265 and +2349083777789, or by email at nigerianfactcheckerscoalition@gmail.com.
The Coalition’s verified reports and fact-checks will be disseminated through its member organisations and partners throughout the election period.
About the Coalition
The coalition formed in June 2022 has become a formidable fact-checking front that has taken on the responsibility to publicly expose unbridled misconceptions and fake news associated with town hall meetings, public speeches, and elections, leveraging diverse multimedia channels.
Its signatories include the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), Africa Check, CableCheck (The Cable), FactCheckHub, and DUBAWA, who are all working alongside other partners, including the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR), the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), FactsMatterNG, Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab, Alkalanci, The Continental, Round Check, WikkiTimes, FactWatch, and others.
With this coordinated partnership, the coalition hopes to effectively and efficiently safeguard the quality of information that public stakeholders will share in the Osun State election and to fill knowledge gaps through Media and Information Literacy (MIL) articles.