Reporting Crisis:

Media Women Schooled on Fact-Checking, Freelancing

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Seminar Participants in photo with Canadian High Commissioner

In a bid to curb the spread of fake news and social media propaganda within the context of the socio-political crisis rocking the Northwest and Southwest Regions, over 20 female journalists working in these crisis-hit zones have been empowered with fact-checking, verification and freelancing skills to enable them gather news accurately and report truthfully.

                The three-day training at Mansel Hotel, Yaounde was organised by SisterSpeak237, in collaboration with the Canadian High Commission in Cameroon. Sisterspeaks237 is an NGO that seeks to protect the rights of women in diverse fields.

                Comfort Mussa, founder/coordinator of Sisterspeak237, told reporters that the theme fact-checking was chosen because of its global importance in news reporting.

The theme is appropriate for Cameroonian reporters at this time when fake news has become recurrent especially with respect to the conflict in the English speaking regions of the country, Mussa underscored, noting the problems fake news causes for journalists and the audiences they serve.

                “The world is faced with a storm of fake news that is why we need to think twice, to verify and make sure information we give out is true, if not people will be misled especially in the present day and time,” Mussa said, adding that participants will be empowered with fact-checking and verification skills and tools, to enable them provide more accurate information that helps audiences to make informed choices about their lives.

                She added that because of the Anglophone conflict which has either caused many journalists to lose their jobs or has made their condition of work more and more difficult, participants will be trained how to become freelance journalists in order to try and close the unemployment gap.

                “…We will train them on how to start up as freelance journalists, how to succeed and how to survive as a freelance journalist,” Mussa revealed.

                Speaking as he opened the seminar, H.E. Richard Bale, Canadian High Commissioner to Cameroon, promised continuous support to initiatives that would help empower journalists to become independent to do their jobs honestly and independently.

                He added that with the fewer opportunities in journalism in the English-speaking regions as a result of the crisis, the High Commission will remain open to support initiatives aimed at strengthening the ability of journalists to become freelancers.

                The three day capacity-building training was a veritable avenue for experience and knowledge sharing for female journalists practicing in crisis zones.

                Bale said Canada is at the front in supporting press freedom reason they jointly hosted with the UK a Global Media Freedom Conference to push for press freedom.

Apart from fact-checking, the seminar schooled participants on becoming freelancers. Other themes included survival tips, fact-checking deep fakes, pictures, videos, the anti-terrorism law in Cameroon, fact-checking in resource limited newsrooms, managing source relationships in crisis zones, humanitarian reporting, collaborative story ideas among others.

                End of training certificates were handed to participants, who expressed gratitude to the organisers and confessed to have gained a lot.