Uptake and Sustainability of Fact-Checking Practice Beyond a Journalism Fellowship in West Africa

Increased efforts are being made to entrench fact-checking practices in Nigerian newsrooms through capacity building trainings for local journalists. Among such efforts is the Dubawa Fact-Checking Fellowship Programme. However, studies suggest limited uptake of learned skills among journalists who had undergone such midcareer trainings. Introduced in 2019, five cohorts of journalists from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Liberia have since participated in the Dubawa Fact-Checking fellowship. This study examines the extent of fact-checking skills uptake and practices among the first three cohorts of fellows, beyond the fellowship period. It adopted a survey research method, targeting a census of 38 Dubawa Fact-checking fellows selected across media organisations in Nigeria. Data for the study was collected electronically via a Google form. Our findings suggest improved proficiency in fact-checking skills among participants during the fellowship, but lessened enthusiasm in the post-fellowship period. Such observed decline in fact-checking activities threatens fact-checking entrenchment efforts in newsrooms. Our findings reiterate the need for newsroom-driven efforts to sustain fact-checking integration into editorial routines, beyond training opportunities for individual journalists. This study therefore recommends sustained institutionalised strategies for better entrenchment of fact-checking practices across newsrooms.