Following the recent launch of its Third-Party Fact-Checking Programme to help assess the accuracy of news and reduce the spread of misinformation, Facebook has partnered with Nigerian fact-checking website, Dubawa.
Dubawa is a national platform which provides factual information to its readers so they can make informed decisions, whether political, economic, security or mainstream decisions, based on the truth.
According to Facebook in a statement, Dubawa is certified by the non – partisan international fact – checking network, Poynter.
This announcement comes after Africa Check and AFP have been engaged in its third- party fact- checking programme in the country.
According to Facebook, the fact- checking initiative aims to improve the quality of news people find on its platform by helping to assess the accuracy of news and reduce the spread of misinformation.
The global content provider said it relied on feedback from the Facebook community and many other signals Facebook used to raise potentially false stories to fact checkers for review.
It added that local articles would be fact- checked alongside the verification of photos and videos, adding that whenever a fact-checking agency identified a story as fake, Facebook would show it lower in News Feed , significantly reducing its distribution.
“This new partnership with Dubawa further highlights our commitment in tackling misinformation and false news across Nigeria, and builds on the already important work that AFP and Africa Check have begun.
“We know that Third – Party Fact- Checking alone is not the solution , it is one of many initiatives and programmes we continue to invest in across the country to help to improve the quality of information people see on Facebook, ” the Head of Public Policy for West and Central Africa, Adaora Ikenze, said .
Commenting on the partnership, Dubawa’s Editor, Ebele Oputa, added: “The danger of fake news, mis-information, dis-information, in whatever form, is ever more real and vivid in today’s world. In recent years, we’ve seen democracies all over the world, being threatened by the spread of false news which plays to the fears and prejudices of people.
“As a fact-checking organization in Nigeria, we try as much as we can to fight this via our articles, tweets and trainings, but we also understand the role that technology plays in getting the right information to the public. We hope that the partnership with Facebook will further improve on the work we have been doing.”
