Media, civil society form fact-checking coalition before national elections

A coalition of Namibian media and civil society organisations are partnering to help voters critically engage with information to help them make informed decisions when voting.

The coalition, supported by the Google News Initiative, will collaborate to fact-check politician and political party claims, provide voters with reliable, nonpartisan information on key issues, and equip the public with the skills they need to identify election misinformation.

“The influx of false information during an election season is often more than any one organisation can manage,” says Africa Check deputy chief editor Cayley Clifford.

Namibia Fact Check editor Frederico Links says this is a much needed and very welcome initiative.

“We are definitely seeing an up-tick in election-related mis- and disinformation ahead of the 27 November elections, so this initiative will help us and our partners to try to stem the tide of falsehoods that could undermine Namibia’s still developing democracy,” says Links.

Google News Partner sub-Saharan Africa manager Marianne Erasmus says Google wants Namibians to confidently discern between fact and fiction and have access to high-quality information.

Initial coalition partners include fact-checking organisations Africa Check and Namibia Fact Check, Namibia Media Trust, The Namibian, Desert Radio, The Issue and the Media Ombudsman, Action Namibia Coalition, the Institute for Public Policy Research, the Namibia Institute for Democracy, Social Enabled Education Namibia, and the Media and Information Literacy Learning Initiative Trust.

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