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2024 is winding down with some amazing research and reports from our writers.
We decided to pick some reports that helped some of our readers understand the concept better.
This is in no particular order, as several of our reports have continued to become more relevant over the years. Some also serve as evergreen and educative reports.
Now, let’s look at some of the editor’s picks.
EXPLAINER: Step By Step Guide To Remove Lawmakers From Office As Citizens Of Nigeria
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In 2024, a lawmaker, Alex Ikwechegh, tendered an apology for assaulting an e-hailing driver during delivery at his residence in Maitam, Abuja.
The incident has stirred conversations around the power of citizens to remove elected lawmakers in Nigeria.
Constitutionally, constituents can recall any member of the National Assembly, House of Assembly of a State, and Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, following the process established by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This particular piece sheds more light on how citizens can remove lawmakers from office.
What Is Samoa Agreement And Did Nigeria Sign It?
The Samoa Agreement brings together 79 member states of the OACPS and 27 member states of the European Union to represent close to 2 billion people with diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
ROUNDCHECK discovered that the agreement includes a focus on the region’s specific needs and a common foundation at ACP level combined with three regional protocols for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
When there were controversies if Nigeria signed the Samoa agreement or not, we waded in and did a check.
#EndBadGovernance Protests Record Series of Misinformation, Raising Concerns Amongst Experts
Do you remember the 2024 End Bad Governance protest in Nigeria?
We did a major review and in-depth look into some of the events that unfolded as it concerned misinformation.
The protest, under the hashtag EndBadGovernance, saw Nigerians take to the streets to express their grievances, which led to the deaths of 22 people, according to Amnesty International’s Nigeria office.
Additionally, at least 31 journalists were attacked while covering the EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests, according to the Press Attack Tracker (PAT).
Edo Decides 2024: Live Checks For Edo State Election
One of the governorship elections that took place in Nigeria was in Edo state.
In a significant effort to promote electoral integrity, the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) which includes Roundcheck launched real-time fact-checking to verify claims made by political candidates and parties during the upcoming elections.
This work of live checks helped Nigerians to be able to identify what is true and not as far as the electoral activities were concerned. It was a collective effort.
Manipulated Image Used to Portray Peter Obi’s Visit to MC Oluomo
Can Peter Obi, Labour Party 2023 Presidential candidate and the former governor of Anambra State ever congratulate MC Oluomo?
Well, maybe later but as of now, no report of such.
In 2024, an X user claimed that Obi congratulated MC Oluomo and even visited him after he (MC Oluomo) was reportedly elected the National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
After putting the image to reverse image search ROUNDCHECK found that the picture used to portray Peter Obi’s congratulation of MC Oluomo is misleading.
CLOSE CHECK: Is Mali The First African Country To Be Debt Free? We Found Something
Can a country be debt-free?
The news of Mali becoming a debt-free country has appeared on various social media platforms, including X (Twitter), and LinkedIn.
On 15th November 2024, a popular celebrity and activist on X known as @AreaFada1, noted in a tweet that Mali is now a debt-free country.
ROUNDCHECK findings showed that a country can be debt free but it is difficult to achieve.
With the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative launched in 1996 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, it can only help countries avoid unmanageable debt.
Our researcher later found that Mali is not yet debt-free.
For members of the secessionist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), spreading propaganda on Nigeria’s X (formerly Twitter) under the guise of foreign nationals is one of its ways of fighting a low-level guerilla war with the Nigerian government.
The year 2024 really had much of the Ipob comments as they continued their call.
ROUNDCHECK did extensive work to expose some X handles spreading Ipob propaganda.
Big Brother Naija is Not Giving Out ₦7,000 To Celebrate Season 9 Launch
A message circulated on WhatsApp claimed that Big Brother Naija is giving out ₦7,000 to Nigerians in celebration of the Season 9 launch.
ROUNDCHECK reviewed the official social media accounts of Big Brother Naija 2024 but couldn’t find anything related to the post or announcement of a ₦7,000 cash giveaway by the organizers.
Both the Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages of Big Brother Naija are not updated with any giveaway, showing that the N7,000 giveaway claim is false.
To find the truth in this, our researcher dug deeper and risked his social safety to debunk this claim.
How Non-captioned Images in Media is Promoting Misinformation
Imagine seeing a 2020 image in 2024, and someone is claiming that the incident happened in 2024.
Images, like other multimedia content, are a major part of media reports, and unlike text, images help tell a message quickly, aiding comprehension and attracting several audiences.
It has been a noticeable practice by media organizations to use images without proper captions, which poses a barrier to the fight against misinformation.
Several media platforms in Nigeria have been observed to use images without proper captions, some of which are old and reused to fit multiple publications. These practices indirectly promote misinformation.
This report looked into the danger of non-captioned images.
Fake NECO Result Link Circulating On WhatsApp
A viral post circulating on WhatsApp claims that the National Examinations Council of Nigeria (NECO) results are out and students can check their results using an attached link (https://all-free-byt.org/neco-2024).
We checked the official NECO website and found that the link provided differs from the one circulating on WhatsApp.
Moreover, there is no mainstream media report indicating that the link or website to access the 2024 NECO result has changed.
The correct NECO website is neco.gov.ng while those who want to check their results go through www.results.neco.gov.ng.
This particular report has helped applicants to be aware of false NECO links.