Group Charges Journalists On Fact Checking, Others

In what looked like way forward in modern media practice, Journalists have been asked to always fact check to verify the authenticity of videos, pictures, audio and news stories before sharing or publishing same.
The Editor, Dubawa Nigeria, Kemi Busari, gave the advice at a two-day digital verification and fact checking workshop organised by Dubawa Nigeria and Centre for Investigative Journalism for journalists in Port Harcourt, weekend.
Busari noted that fact checking was  the process of verifying information with the intent of determining its correctness.
He also affirmed that it  was imperative for a 21st century  media practitioner to ensure that information they dish out to the public was  authentic  in order to avoid chaos and panic among members of the public.
The media expert also called on  journalists to be weary and not be deceived by doctored images, opinion disguised as fact, and false statistics by candidates of political parties, especially as the country is set for electoral processes.
Other things a journalist should do to verify whether a claim was true or false, he said, was to investigate through the internet search, geographical mapping, speaking with human sources, and search through documents.
Speaking, the Deputy Director, Verification and Media Literacy Practice of Centre for Investigative Journalism Development (CJID), Caroline Anipah, called on journalists to be sure they get their facts right as not to misinform or dis-inform the society.
Anipah further stated that pressmen as the Fourth Estate of the Realm should be at alert to know when a content was manipulated , false content, mis-leading, fabricated and satiric.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, Mr.  Stanley Job Stanley, advised journalists to always report facts.
Stanley also called on politicians to conduct themselves peacefully to make the job of reporters easy as the elections draw closer.
He, however, expressed regret that journalists are  exposed to so much danger and called for laws that will protect them.
Meanwhile, the NUJ Chairman lauded Dubawa Nigeria and Center for Investigative Journalism and Development for their efforts to keep journalists abreast with digital ways of fact checking stories, videos, audio and pictures before sharing or publishing. ###

By: King Onunwor