A three-day fact-checking and verification workshop centered on the upcoming 2025 Malawian elections has commenced in Lilongwe.
The workshop, organized by Africa Check in partnership with the Media Council of Malawi (MCM) and the Platform for Investigative Journalism has drawn media professionals from across all regions of the country.
In the opening session, the facilitator, Carina Van Wyk, who is Head of Education and Training at Africa Check, took the participants through key topics including: the importance of facts and the real-world impact of false information; the different types of disinformation and misinformation and how they spread; common falsehoods to look out for before, during, and after the elections; an overview of the fact-checking process; and how to integrate fact-checking into daily journalism work.
Van Wyk emphasized the importance of fact-checking information, highlighting that false information can prevent people from seeking or finding appropriate help, create unnecessary fear and panic, and strengthen prejudice against and lead to violence towards specific groups of people.
In his opening remarks, MCM Executive Director Moses Kaufa highlighted that one of the key challenges journalists face in fact-checking and verification is a lack of skills on how to properly verify or cross-check information. He also pointed to limited access to training opportunities due to resource constraints. The Executive Director advised participants to avoid joining political parties’ media teams, as doing so could compromise their work and their obligation to uphold journalistic standards.
Kaufa urged participants to engage actively in the workshop, emphasizing that the training is a vital step toward closing these gaps.
“I also want to ask you to make sure that you be very active, ask questions and share experiences because meeting like this gives an opportunity to learn from one another and I ask you to make sure that you commit to this training,” said Kaufa.
The workshop will also cover tips for spotting false information online, geolocation and image verification tools and techniques, methods for identifying AI-generated images and videos, and strategies for effectively transferring fact-checking knowledge and skills.
Africa Check, Africa’s first independent fact-checking organization, assesses the accuracy of claims by public figures, organizations and the media, and on social media using evidence drawn from publicly available resources and experts.
