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The maiden edition of Truth in Verse Festival, a poetry festival on Media and Information Literacy (MIL) organised by Roundcheck, was held on December 12, 2025, in Lagos State, with a strong focus on how poetry, education, journalism, and creative expression can work together to promote MIL.
Truth in Verse festival highlighted how spoken-word poetry conveys Media and Information Literacy messages across themes like gender, AI, human rights, and elections.
In his opening address, ROUNDCHECK’s Executive Director, Caleb Ijioma, explained that Truth in Verse grew from his passion for spoken-word poetry and his work in fact-checking.
According to him, the festival was designed as a space where poetry, storytelling, workshops, and conversations can come together to encourage critical thinking and responsible media engagement.
He highlighted Nigeria’s large and youthful online population, noting that while millions engage with digital content daily, only a small percentage possess the skills to critically evaluate the information they encounter, further describing spoken-word poetry as an effective way to reach young people, carrying messages in ways that are easy to connect with, remember, and share.
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“ Truth in Verse offers more than a traditional learning experience. It invites young people to feel, to question, and to grow. Through this festival, we raised awareness about misinformation, critical thinking skills, built collaboration between poets, journalists, and educators, and produced resources that will last beyond today,” he said.
Motunrayo Joel, Deputy Editor, Africa Check, harped on the need for young people to start developing a habit of checking information before sharing. She explained that people need to look beyond biases and evaluate media messages before consuming them.
Highlights of the festival included several panel sessions, with experts sharing insights on how newsrooms can strengthen MIL, and how different strategies can be employed to promote the practice in Africa.
Senior Reporter at The Nation newspaper, Alao Abiodun, emphasised that fact-checking must begin at the reporting stage, describing reporters as the first line of defence against misinformation. He stressed that accuracy and credibility must be ensured before stories reach editors.
UNESCO MIL expert, Dr Olunifesi Suraj, shifted attention to education, arguing that Media and Information Literacy must begin from the classroom. He described the disconnect between academic training and newsroom practice as a major setback to effective verification.
“Students should not graduate without acquiring practical fact-checking and verification skills,” he said, emphasising the importance of collaboration between educators, practitioners, and fact-checking organisations to better prepare students for modern newsroom realities.
Also reacting, Allwell Okpi, Community Manager, Africa Check, spoke on newsroom collaboration, observing that while partnerships between newsrooms and fact-checking organisations have existed, many lacked structure and sustainability.
AllWell stressed the need for more intentional collaborations that allow fact-checking expertise to flow directly into newsroom operations, noting that news organisations remain powerful channels for promoting Media and Information Literacy.
Victor Ejechi, Head of Insights at SBM Intelligence, addressed the role of data and analytics in detecting misinformation trends, encouraging journalists to become more comfortable with numbers. He described data as central to verification, particularly when reporting government statistics, budgets, and socio-economic indicators.
Meanwhile, the Founder of Naija Poetry Fest, Godson Osarenren, emphasised that bringing young people together through creative platforms helps to amplify advocacy and encourage social change. He added that through consistent creative expression, young people can be empowered to stand for truth and become agents of change within society.
Spoken word artist Mariam Tijani noted that poetry is a very powerful tool for change, which has a way of transforming complex words into simple meanings. According to her, “poetry cannot just be for expressing feelings, but can be used to advocate change.”
Key recommendations were provided, including integration of fact-checking and MIL into journalism education, continuous newsroom training on data literacy, and the use of creative expressions, like poetry and art, to improve MIL.
The event featured a brief introduction to Roundcheck’s new product, Civic Play, a web game created to improve civic awareness and foster civic participation.
Project manager, Ilerioluwa Phillips, explained that this web game was created with young Nigerians in mind, as they can learn while having fun.
The event ended with the launch of the Truth in Verse Anthology, which included poems by participants.
