Call For Applications: Code for Africa (CfA) CheckDesks Fellowships in West Africa 2025
The Code for Africa (CfA), through its flagship network, the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA), is offering a seven-month incubation program to established media organizations or watchdog civil society organizations (CSOs) based in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal to help them set up or expand CheckDesks.
A CheckDesk is a dedicated fact-checking/verification unit within a news organization or CSO that uses the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN)—compliant techniques to research and debunk misleading or harmful information.
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The fellowships are part of the project ‘Strengthening Resilient Information Ecosystems in Africa,’ an initiative co-financed by the European Union, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in cooperation with diverse partners, including Code for Africa (CfA) and DW Akademie.
The initiative seeks to strengthen the capacity of local media and watchdog organizations to expose, dismantle, and destabilize disinformation networks. It will also promote information integrity through the digitization of credible sources and supporting influencers to counter online manipulation.
Eligibility
- The organization must not work for any paramilitary or security organization.
- The organization must be based in one of the following countries: Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
- The organization must have an existing online presence, including an actively maintained website and/or social media profiles, or a commitment to establishing a digital footprint at the beginning of the program.
- The organization must have internet access to enable participating journalists, trainees, and researchers to access project resources and undertake their fact-checking assignments.
- The media organization or newsroom must be a member of the AFCA network. If you are not a member at the time of application, fill out this form to become an AFCA member before applying.
- The organization must have managerial and editorial staff committed to participating in the program during the agreed-upon period.
- The organization must commit to timely and open communication from the management and second team members.
- The seconded trainees must commit to agreed-upon weekly online training and task-based class assignments.
- The organization must commit to broadcasting or publishing content produced through the program in the specified cadence and driving engagement on an appropriate public platform.
- The seconded trainees must be fluent in the language of tuition and mentorship: French.
Benefits
The program will consist of:
- Financial support: The chosen organizations will receive a grant to cover eligible activities and costs.
- Publishing support: The newsrooms will publish the fact-checking products generated under the project on their respective media platforms. The newsrooms will also be supported to publish internationally.
- Organization building: The selected organizations will receive online consultations with CfA to better understand their audience, refine fact-checks, and develop potential revenue models.
- Growing reach: CfA will offer amplification/growth support, including scaling/syndication support.
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Deadline: March 4, 2025.