Verify The Fact, Countering the prevalence of disinformation through youth engagement
Report on the school tour on Media and Information Literacy with schools in the greater Banjul and West Coast Region held from the 26th September to 29th September, 2022.
INTRODUCTION
Fact checking remains the most effective way of ensuring quality and relevant transmission of information within the public space thus, countering misinformation which is effective for the advancement of democracy. 22 years of media censorship under an autocratic rule made it difficult for fact checking or verifying any information to be shared within the public space. After the change of government in 2016, The Gambia witnessed the emergence of many media outlets, both online and offline, the misconceptions around the new found democracy especially, with the right to “Freedom of speech” led to misleading of the public space by many, especially among the young people. There continues to be a flow of misinformation within the public space, to a large extent, causing fear amongst the citizenry which could potentially cause chaos and other unfortunate circumstances in the country. As a youth led fact checking center, we seek to position the most important constituent of the population in the work we do to advance the proper verification of any piece of information within the public space — young people and women. These constituents of our population are both drivers and engines of misinformation thus, requires efforts and engagements that will raise awareness and ensure that they’re put at the center of the fight against misinformation and disinformation. In light of putting efforts to engage the young people in the quest to countering disinformation in The Gambia through capacity building program, Fact Check Center The Gambia conducted a four-day school tour to build the capacity of students in the selected schools on Media and information with focus on understanding “Fake news” (Disinformation, Misinformation and Mal-information) and Digital tools to verify online information for photos and videos.
During the course of the school tour, the team visited seven senior Secondary schools around Banjul, Kanifing and West Coast Region. The training capacitated a total number of three hundred and fifty students (300).
Figure 1 picture taken at Gambia SSS during presentation on the key terms
Day 1: Gambia Senior Secondary School (Presentation on Understanding the terms Dis/Mis Information and Mal-information
The tour began in Banjul at Gambia Senior Secondary school at 9am, where 50 students were gathered in a classroom for the sessions, and later on the team proceeded to Kairaba senior secondary school. The session started with an introduction by the teacher coordinator who introduced the team from the Fact Check Center and further elaborated on the importance of our visit and the training. This was followed by the first presentation on the topic “Understanding the terminologies fake news (Misinformation, Disinformation, Mal-Information), how to spot disinformation and misinformation and the danger surrounding the spread of disinformation in the society, led by Omar Camara, the Executive Director of Fact-Check Center. Omar started by engaging the students through questions, “What are Disinformation, Misinformation and Mal-information” have they heard about or maybe even read about them? The students’ responses showed that they have indeed in one way or the other come across fake news and some might have even assisted in disseminating fake news without even realizing it. However, some of the terms like misinformation, disinformation and mal-information were relatively new terms to them. Omar took them through the presentation by first establishing the meanings of the different aspects of fake news (mis/dis/mal-information), he explained to them using real life scenarios to get the students to understand and relate better to the definitions given. Through that the students were able to understand that they did know what these terms that sounded foreign to them were and have in ways interacted with such terminologies from day to day most especially on the internet without realizing.
The session also entailed getting the students to understand the difference between the terminologies (misinformation, disinformation and mal-information). They were made to understand the importance of intent when it comes to the issue of fake news, that while in misinformation the entity sharing the information has no intent to harm; it is quite different from misinformation and disinformation where the main intent of the information is to cause harm. Omar also took the students through on how to spot fake news and how social media has been the biggest force in spreading fake news, he made the students understand that while the media helps in a lot of ways like easing communication, it is also to a larger extend, responsible for the spread of disinformation and misinformation around the world. During the presentation, a student by the name Isatou Jammeh asked if there are laws or regulations against disinformation in The Gambia. Responding to this question, Omar made it clear to the participants that there are no laws that are set to regulate the spread of disinformation in The Gambia. Another student, who put forward a comment, said “I think today I learned something very interesting and educational, especially on Mal information, from now on, I will be careful before I share videos, pictures and anything private”
Figure 2: Second Presentation on Digital and Fact-checking Tools
The second presentation was led by the communications officer and IT specialist Muhammed Lamin Touray, who took the students on the understanding and usage of digital tools to be able to spot and detect when an article or video spreading online is false and misleading. He explained to them the importance of digital tools in helping individuals to safely and meaningfully interact on social media, cognizant of the fact that the effects of misleading information could be dangerous.
In Muhammed’s words “not every photo or video that you see online is true. The power of technology is undeniable as it is rapidly evolving to an extent that what used to be seen as impossible is now possible”. One of the most helpful digital tools that he introduced to the students was the Google lens, where he taught the students how to use the tool to protect themselves from engaging in any form of misleading content.
The team then proceeded to Kairaba Senior Secondary school were a similar presentation was done and student where exposed to the terms such as Disinformation, Misinformation and Mal information and most importantly the dangers surrounding the spread of fake news and disinformation. The students were equally trained on the digital tools to help verify pictures and videos online.
Figure 3: John Pickering Junior and Secondary School
Day 2
We started our second day of the tour at John Pickering Junior and Secondary School on the 27th. There upon gathering about 50 students, Omar took them through the presentation on understanding misinformation, disinformation and mal-information like he did with the previous schools, he also took them through the dangers of fake news and the negative effect it has, how to spot it and why they should stay away from such.
The students were made to understand that the information we consume plays a pivotal role in the way people would perceive and react to things, misleading information can therefore pose severe threats to peaceful co-existence and democracy. The discussion also centered on the fake news ecosystem in The Gambia, how fake news is persistent and growing within our jurisdiction. Omar also discussed with them on how political parties use fake news as Propaganda to push forward their various agendas. By the end of the session, the students were able to distinguish between misinformation and disinformation, how to use digital tools to spot fake news and the idea of propaganda in relation to fake news.
Figure 4: Masroor Senior Secondary School
The team further proceeded to the second school for Day 2 of the tour which was Masroor Senior Secondary School, where we had a repetition of what we had presented in the previous schools; the session with the students of Masroor was a very interactive and impactful one. The students showed great interest in wanting to learn about fake news and what makes up fake news. These vibrant students were made to understand that disinformation and misinformation are like diseases, they are easier and cheaper to prevent but very harmful and expensive to cope with when spread. Therefore we must not risk it, we must verify before we share.
Figure 5: Mingdow Senior Secondary School
Day 3
On the 28th of September which was day 3 of the tour the team started off at Mingdow Junior and Senior High School, where the Lead Researcher Rosette Gomez led the presentation on understanding misinformation, disinformation and mal-information. The students were informed on how to spot fake news and what to do whenever they come across it. This we believe helped inform the participants and positively tailored their response to information shared on public spaces. After taking the students through the presentation, Miss Gomez had an interactive discussion with the students where some of them have testimonies of how they were victims of misleading content and some hand even fell victim to scammers.
Figure 6: “One Fatou Sowe, a student, told us that she had once come across news on the internet about the grade 9 results. From the image, the source of information was cut off and the tone of the message was biased. The person was giving schools like Anne Marie, Brikama upper, Yunus and the like very good aggregates and was downgrading schools like St Therese’s and Gambia Methodist. From there, she directly came to realized that the news was fake and the person was mocking other schools”.
Muhammed Touray guided the students on the digital tools that can be used to spot and counter fake news. The session was concluded in fulfillment of the team’s task.
Figure: 7 Kabafita Senior Secondary School
The team proceeded to Kabafita Senior School where Omar took the students through the presentation on fake news, how to spot fake news, the dangerous effects it has on our environment and why it’s important to desist from engaging with it, as was similarly done in Mingdow School. The students were also taken through various aspects of fake news, like we did in the previous schools engaged on media literacy and the necessary tools for the safe use of the internet.
Figure 8: Scanaid Senior Secondary School
Day 4
We ended the school tour at Scanaid Senior Secondary School on the 29th of September. 50 students were gathered just like all the other schools that were visited, Rosette Gomez did the introductions and from there, Omar and Muhammed took over and presented to the students on the importance of understanding misinformation, disinformation and mal-information, how to spot fake news, the effects of fake news, propaganda and the helpful digital tools needed to spot and counter fake news. By the end of the session, the students were able to make distinctions between misinformation and disinformation, their awareness of fake news was also built, and from their responses, we are hopeful that they will pass on the message.
Outcome of the Training
The school tour was a success and our targets, aims and objectives were achieved as per the concept note of the training,
- The participants awareness on the prevalence of the spread of fake news and misinformation was raised and built during the tour.
- Students learned about the impact and dangers of the spread of disinformation and misinformation as well as how they can spot disinformation on social media platforms and beyond.
- The training built the students capacity on basic media literacy skills and how to engage media platforms especially social media.
- The students now know and are aware of the existence of the Fact Check Center and how to reach out for accurate and reliable information sharing in the Gambia.
Lessons Learned
The lessons learned during the school are follows but not limited
- We have learned that there is less awareness and understanding on disinformation and misinformation in the Gambia, even though we realized that the phase “Fake News” is a popular term among the masses
- Another lesson learned was that, the people especially students are not aware that Mal information exists and most of them have confessed being perpetrators of Mal information because they have shared one thing or the other.
Challenges
Our team did not encounter a lot of challenge during the tour, however the challenges faced were:
- Due to the fact that schools resumed the same week as the tour, few of our targeted schools were not available at the last minute of the week so we had to change the schools to meet our number of schools targeted.
- Another challenge faced was time; the time was a bit of a challenge especially travelling from one school to another.
- Another challenge was finances; the grant given was inadequate compared to our targeted activities for the tour.
Note: As a result of the aforementioned challenges we were able to only do four days at the time of sharing the progressive report. We gave time for the schools and the students to settle into the Academic year and last week completed the remaining schools as completed in the days report above.
Recommendation
- We will recommend that the MIL project be expanded to all regions in the Gambia
- The fund be extended depending on the activity of the grantee and the budget line instead of having it suggested by the donors
Conclusion
Over the period of the tour, we managed to build the capacity of over 300 students on media and information literacy with the KMC and WCR under the project Verify the Fact, countering the prevalence of disinformation through youth engagement. The tour has been very fulfilling for the entire team; our commitment is to deliver a disinformation free Gambia.
We’re thankful to United Nations Peace Building through UNESCO for funding this activity. We were indeed very inspired by the students’ level of interest in learning about fake news and we hope to continue across the country. We’re equally thankful to the schools for agreeing to work with us and making this tour a success.