The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Dubawa, FactSpace West Africa, and other civil society organizations dedicated to promoting information hygiene, integrity, and resilience in Ghana have established the Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition.
The coalition was formed in anticipation of Ghana’s 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, with the goal of mounting a coordinated effort to combat the growing threat of misinformation and disinformation, which poses a significant risk to the country’s peace, stability, and democratic processes.
In a statement issued in Accra and shared with the Ghana News Agency, the coalition said that the 2024 Global Risk Report had identified misinformation and disinformation as major risks facing many countries in the coming years.
The report warns that the spread of such false information, particularly during elections, could undermine the legitimacy of newly elected governments, potentially leading to political unrest, violence, terrorism, and a long-term erosion of democratic norms.
The statement further noted that the run-up to Ghana’s 2024 elections had already seen the emergence of numerous false and divisive narratives, which could threaten the peaceful conduct of the elections.
In response, the coalition is mobilizing the collective resources and expertise of its members to produce timely, credible, and well-researched fact-checking reports to counter the spread of misinformation during the election period.
The statement said the Coalition had partnered with several prominent civil society organizations, including Africa Check, the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Penplusbyte, West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), and the Digital Africa Research Lab to strengthen the collective effort to tackle misinformation and disinformation.
It explained that as part of their initiative, the coalition would operate Media Situation Rooms in Accra and Tamale from December 4-11, 2024, which would be dedicated to identifying, fact-checking, and debunking false narratives related to the elections.
The rooms would focus on tracking misinformation and disinformation on both online and offline platforms across the country.
The statement said the coalition was also working with around 50 journalists and more than 100 media outlets across Ghana, which publish or broadcast in approximately 45 Ghanaian languages.
It said the media partners would play a crucial role in disseminating the fact-checking reports produced in the Media Situation Rooms and verifying election-related information within their respective communities and regions.
“We are excited to kick off this coalition after many months of discussions. This is the best time for us to come together and collaborate to push back against mis/disinformation and polarising narratives that portend danger for Ghana’s democracy.
“We are hoping our collective work can contribute to a peaceful and credible election,” said Mr Kwaku Krobea Asante, Lead Fact-checker and Senior Programme Officer at the MFWA.
“Creating a united front among fact-checkers, the media and civil society groups like this is one of the best ways to counter the threats from disinformation purveyors and people with malign interests who want to use information to disrupt the credibility of Ghana’s election and democracy.
“We are happy this has come off,” said Rabiu Alhassan, Director of FactSpace West Africa.
“Having participated and witnessed such coalitions across West Africa, we are very delighted that we have been able to come together for this coalition. We are looking forward to making a positive impact on the elections,” the statement quoted Ms Roselena Ahiable, Programme Manager of Dubawa, as saying.
The Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition has been convened with funding support from the US Embassy in Ghana and the Google News Initiative. UK-based Full Fact has also provided access to its Full Fact AI platform to assist members of the Coalition to monitor and counter disinformation.
Source: GNA