PTCIJ concludes week-long fact-checking training for journalists

The Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) on Friday ended its weeklong factchecking training at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The training, which started on Monday, successfully built the capacity of over 50 journalists in two newsrooms [Daily Trust newspaper and at NAN].  Last week, editors and reporters at the Daily Trust newspaper in Abuja went through a three-day certificated training in fact-checking journalism where, the chief executive of the newspaper, Mallam Manir Dan Ali, called on the Nigerian media to embrace the challenge of strengthening the profession through dedication to fact-checking.

Mallam Ali’s call was reinforced at the News Agency of Nigeria training where the Managing Director, Bayo Onanuga, at the opening ceremony of the training expressed his gratitude to PTCIJ for initiating the training, and for helping to promote the culture of credibility in the Nigerian media.

He said, “I think fact checking is very fundamental for our practise. Journalism is anchored on facts and facts are sacred,” urging  journalists to imbibe the culture of fact-checking, especially in this digital age where, according to him, every information is prone to easy manipulation and corruption.

Speaking for the PTCIJ, Dapo Olorunyomi, the Chief Executive Officer of the organisation said that the advent of DUBAWA as a national fact-checking platform offers Nigerian journalism the opportunity to give the culture of a verification a new momentum and validation.

He said the fact checking training will proceed to other newsrooms in the country that had expressed desire to develop the capacity of their staff in that competence, and who have shown commitment to set up a desk in their newsroom to institutionalise the practice.