The Institute for Media and Society (IMS) has called on all Northern broadcast journalists to embed in their work processes, the critical step of fact-checking to avoid misinformation and disinformation.
IMS program manager, Mr. Bamidele Timothy, made the call at a two-day workshop tagged “Capacity Building and Best Practice Presentation on Misinformation and Disinformation” organized by the organization in StoneHedge Hotel Kaduna.
In his welcome speech, Mr. Bamidele urged all participants to fully concentrate on all that would be taught and shown, as they would form the unique hedge and help them stand out as journalists in an era of over-dependence on unverified ‘news’ materials.
According to him, the program was in response to the recommendations of the European Union (EU) observation mission, and based on the priorities of the Nigerian government.
The training was conducted in collaboration with the European Union Support to the Democratic Government of the Nigerian Government (EU-SDGN).
On the part of the trainers, they not only laid the foundation for the 20 participants but also delved into the critical and more practical process of fact-checking, explaining disinformation, misinformation, and other core terms to ensure that the training would produce fully equipped journalists capable of masterfully ensuring a sane and factually correct post-election media space.
Participants were also privileged to have hands-on experience with fact-checking tools and how best to maximize such tools.
In his closing remark, the Executive Director of IMS, Dr. Akin Akingbolu, urged participants to contact their various media houses and society to help achieve the goal of the program.
Dr. Akingbolu explained that other opportunities await serious and goal-oriented participants who will take it upon themselves to herald the gospel of IMS in Nigeria.
It is worth noting that the IMS Workshop is European Union-funded and carefully selected twenty broadcast journalists from media outfits in Northern States like Niger, Kaduna, and Kano, among others