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Summary
Fact checkers across the continent gather at the Africa Facts Summit 2024 to discuss how to combact gendered disinformation amongst other fact checking challenges.
The ongoing Africa Facts Summit 2024, held on October 9th in Accra, Ghana, brought together fact-checking organisations and experts from across the continent to discuss fact-checking efforts, including the impact of gendered information.
Powered by Africa Check in partnership with DUBAWA and Ghana Fact, the Africa Facts Summit 2024 is the largest event in Africa for fact-checkers. Participants come from Sudan, Tunisia, South Africa, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria. The year’s theme is “Countering Misinformation and Disinformation in Africa: Challenges, Innovations, and Strategic Responses.”
At the conference, fact-checkers strategised on spotting and countering gendered and sexualised disinformation in Africa. The session’s presenter, Kwaku Krobea Asante of the Media Foundation for West Africa (Fact-Check Ghana), encouraged fact-checkers to actively address gendered misinformation, explaining that it’s important to ensure fair and accurate information for everyone.
Asante explained gendered disinformation to be a form of male violence against women in which false or misleading information is weaponised to portray women negatively and exclude them from societal participation.
“Gendered disinformation is a subset of gendered abuse that uses false or misleading gender and/or sex-based narratives against women, often with some degree of coordination aimed at deterring women from participation in the public sphere,” Asante said.
The presenter urged all fact-checkers to understand that gender misinformation isn’t always about giving a true or false verdict but about focusing on solving the problem and addressing its harmful effects.
“Sometimes, gender misinformation is not about whether it is true or false; it’s about investigating the context and reporting on it so that we can begin to call it out,” Asante said.
The 2024 Africa Facts Summit’s final day, tomorrow, October 10, will feature over 50 participants. Experts and participants will continue discussions aimed at addressing the ongoing challenges of misinformation and disinformation across the continent. It will conclude with an Award Gala to honour journalists who contribute to mitigating misinformation in the continent through impactful reporting.
