“..created a platform for building the capacity of members of the initiative towards improving on their social media management, stop fake news/countering disinformation and misinformation at their various places of work.” 

On Thursday, 12^th November 2020, 24 members of the Africa Young Female Advisers Initiative (AYFAI) were trained by The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) on the use of social media and countering disinformation, which focused on the use of social media to engage the public for good.

Mr Austin Aigbe (CDD’s Senior Programme Officer) who represented Idayat Hassan (CDDs’s Director) welcomed the members of AYFAI to the training which created a platform for building the capacity of the participants towards improving on their social media management and countering disinformation and misinformation at their various places of work.

“The meeting is crucial, CDD has been engaged in the business of countering misinformation since 2018 and it is a good thing that the AYFAI is here today. I am also sure that the outcome of the training would be a good one.” – Idayat Hassan. 

“As a social media fact checker you must consider so many things in times of responding to information. As a public office holders social media manager your approach & manners matters.” – Nnennah Ibeh

“As an influencer on social media you must review your news before posting and sharing them. Taking your time to review news on social media will help you in making the right choice for the good of the people, state & the government” – Austin Aigbe

“How we reply information matters a lot because what you reply and how you reply really matters. You should do everything possible to protect the democracy, state & the people” – Adanu Moses

The participants were engaged in:

• Understanding Social Media as a Tool for Good Governance,
• Understanding Fake News/Disinformation and Its Danger to Peace and Democracy,
• Understanding Disinformation Through Gender Lens,
• Tools/Techniques for Spotting and Countering Disinformation,
• Tools for Fact Checking

1. 1. In Vid Fake news Debunker Toolkits
   2. Working on deepfake videos
   3. Fake News/Disinformation websites and wayback machine
   4. Google reversed image search
   5. Etc.

• Reporting Fake News and Dissemination of Fact-Check on Social Media
• Principles of fact checking
• Etc.

The Africa Young Female Advisers Initiative on behalf of the participants appreciates CDD via their twitter handle:

We wish to appreciate @CDDWestAfrica for supporting us in training aids to public office holders in Nigeria on Social Media Management and countering fake news especially at this critical moment of our time. @AmacLg @kemiAnnAreola @GimbaFaith @YIAGA @unwomenNG @NelsonMandela pic.twitter.com/rFC5WxyXm5

— Africa Young Female Advisers Initiative (@FemaleSas) November 12, 2020

And while expressing their joy for the opportunity, some of the participants highlighted the importance of the training.

A media assistant at the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sport, John Joshua Akanji said he believes there is need for media aide of government agencies to bridge the gap created by lack of information sharing between state owned agencies and the dissemination of these information to the people. He said, “I have learned that we need to engage and if we need to communicate with your people, we need to come down to their own space. We need to come down from our high horses.”

Also, Chika Ebogha of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), said the knowledge of the fact- checking tools garnered during the training will be very helpful. In her words, “I think that is one thing I am taking away from this training.”