West Africa strengthens its response to disinformation to promote greater democratic stability

West Africa is facing an increasingly complex situation characterised by the proliferation of disinformation, false information and hate speech, fuelled by the rapid evolution of digital technologies. The expansion of social media, messaging apps and artificial intelligence tools has transformed the information ecosystem, creating new opportunities for citizen participation, but also new risks to electoral integrity, social cohesion and public trust.

These challenges transcend national borders. Disinformation campaigns exploit shared languages, digital networks and regional political events to amplify their impact. At the same time, the rise of generative artificial intelligence facilitates the creation and dissemination of increasingly convincing synthetic content, reinforcing the need to promote coordinated responses at a regional level.

In this context, strengthening the capacity of journalists and civil society organisations to identify, verify and respond to disinformation is essential to protecting democratic processes, promoting reliable access to information and contributing to peaceful and transparent elections in West Africa.

With the aim of strengthening democratic resilience and electoral integrity in West Africa, the European project 'Support to ECOWAS on Peace, Security and Governance' has launched a series of capacity-building initiatives in Nigeria, Benin and The Gambia. The activities, implemented by FIAP in collaboration with FactCheckAfrica, Banouto and Gambia Participate, have brought together journalists, fact-checkers, civil society organisations, media representatives and digital rights specialists.

Nigeria: capacity building

In Nigeria, the organisation FactCheckAfrica held a three-day capacity-building workshop from 18 to 20 May in Abuja. The training brought together 35 representatives from media organisations and civil society organisations from the north of the country, who received practical training in fact-checking, open-source intelligence (OSINT), AI-based fact-checking tools, election coverage, conflict-sensitive communication and citizen engagement.

The post-workshop evaluation showed a significant increase in participants' confidence in using these tools. Furthermore, several media organisations committed to replicating the training within their own organisations to broaden the initiative's impact. As a result of the event, participants designed the #CheckBeforeYouPost campaign, aimed at promoting the responsible sharing of information during electoral processes.

Benin: strengthening the resilience of the media

In Benin, the organisation Banouto held an interactive seminar involving the media from 19 to 21 May in Cotonou. The event brought together 35 journalists and representatives of civil society organisations to exchange strategies aimed at strengthening the media's resilience in the face of disinformation and manipulation campaigns during electoral processes.

As a result of the seminar, participants committed to launching joint awareness-raising campaigns, developing training initiatives within their newsrooms and establishing permanent units dedicated to fact-checking and media and information literacy (MIL) within their organisations, with the aim of facilitating public access to reliable information.

Gambia: cooperation for more integrity-driven and transparent elections

In The Gambia, Gambia Participate organised a three-day capacity-building workshop from 20 to 22 May in Banjul, aimed at journalists and civil society organisations. The training focused on electoral integrity, peace-building, fact-checking, election coverage and conflict-sensitive communication. Participants also worked on developing joint strategies for citizen participation and on implementing the #CheckBeforeYouPost campaign.

The initiative also contributed to the creation of a peer-learning network that will facilitate the exchange of information in real time, the dissemination of best practices for safe journalism, and the development of collaborative fact-checking protocols amongst organisations from different West African countries.

Investment in regional stability

The organisers of the project, co-funded by the European Union, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), emphasised that these initiatives help to create a coordinated regional response to disinformation: "By strengthening the capacities of journalists and civil society organisations in Nigeria, Benin and The Gambia, the European Union and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) are making a long-term investment in regional stability, peace, social cohesion and democratic resilience."

The activities also received extensive coverage in the local press in all three countries, which helped to broaden the initiatives' reach and raise awareness of the importance of combating disinformation and protecting democratic integrity.