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ROUNDCHECK, an independent youth-led fact-checking organization, has conducted an online training section for its volunteers on how to write publishable fact-checking reports to combat misinformation. The training which was held on Saturday was moderated by Ojo Boluwatife, Head of Communication, and facilitated by the Managing Editor, Adesola Ikulajolu.
The Executive Director of ROUNDCHECK, Caleb Ijioma, in his opening remarks, charged the volunteers to use all available tools to spread true information.
Ikulajolu, who started the training, asked the volunteers to share their experiences while fact-checking reports and the difficulties they faced while writing them.
The interactive session continued as the Managing Editor explained that the act of Fact-checking does not only revolve around a fact-checking report that has already been broadcasted to confirm its validity and genuinity but also entails giving out information on issues that might seem odd around us and on existing beliefs which might be misleading and false.
He further mentioned some tools and websites to help in writing a publishable and stress-free fact-checking report.
“While writing a fact-checking report, you must ensure to put the timeframe of writing the report because what was true at 2 p.m can be false by 2.01 p.m because things change. The time it was being fact-checked, it can be false but something new might spring up,” Ikulajolu said.
The Executive Director then encouraged the volunteers to keep on writing and fact-checking reports so as to meet up with the standard of the Africa facts network, a fact-checking organization of which ROUNDCHECK newly became a member.
In his closing words, Boluwatife ended the training by appreciating the facilitator, organizers, and the volunteers present.
While speaking to one of the volunteers on how he has benefited from the program, he said the training has expanded his scope of fact-checking.
“The training is an eye-opener to some areas in fact-checking I have no idea about.”