By Tabora Bojang
Alagie Manneh,a senior reporter at The Standard newspaper over the weekend left for Nairobi for a five-day training programme on African elections.
The programme is organized by the Thompson Reuters Foundation, and the initiative dubbed ‘Fact-checking for African Elections,’ is designed to help African journalists and editors to ‘fact-check’ their own election coverages.
It will take place from 19 – 23 June, 2017.
The programme is expected to provide skills, tools and resources on fact checking in an African context.
The programme will also look at how to develop and integrate evidence-based election coverage into existing newsrooms.
Speaking before his departure: “In an era of “post truth”, fake news and propaganda, fact checking is more important than ever. We must not doubt it is absolutely necessary, especially if we just for one second cast back our minds on the past disputed December polls. And of course, with the countdown looming for our Local Government Elections, the significance of this programme in helping ensure transparent, free and fair elections in our country is a heartily welcome.”
