The Open Foundation West Africa (OFWA), in collaboration with Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia Ghana User Group, and Code for Africa, organized a forum on the theme “Combating Misinformation and Disinformation for a Democratic Election” on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
The forum formed part of efforts by OFWA to safeguard the integrity of Ghana’s 2024 general elections.
During the forum, OFWA educated media practitioners on malformation, disinformation, and misinformation. Malformation was defined as the use of factual information with the intent to harm, while disinformation and misinformation involve the deliberate creation of false information with and without harmful intent respectively.
OFWA emphasized that factors such as confirmation bias, emotional appeal, and the reiteration effect make individuals susceptible to false information, particularly during election periods.
The organization urged media personnel to rigorously fact-check events, statements, and allegations to avoid the dissemination of false information, which could lead to election disputes and voter manipulation.
To identify misinformation and disinformation, OFWA highlighted warning signs such as anonymous claims presented as facts, viral media content, unverified statements by public figures, and claims likely to cause harm or conflict.
The forum also introduced key verification techniques for journalists, including relying on trusted sources like electoral guidelines, diversifying information sources, and leveraging verification tools such as Google Image, Yandex, and InVid.
Insightful discussions held during the forum covered topics such as the Ghana Polls Project, Wikipedia’s contributions to countering disinformation, and innovative tools from Code for Africa.
Through initiatives like this forum, OFWA aims to strengthen media practitioners’ ability to combat the challenges of misinformation and disinformation, fostering a more informed and democratic electoral process.
