The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is deploying 30 trained media monitors and 20 regional fact-checkers to fight misinformation and disinformation during the 2024 elections.
Supported by partnerships with over 100 radio and TV stations, the initiative aims to track and counter fake news, especially in rural areas where misinformation is more prevalent.
At the opening of the 2024 Media Situation Room in Accra on December 4, 2024, Senior Programs Officer Kwaku Krobea Asante highlighted the initiative’s importance.
He said, “We have monitors stationed across the country, listening to known troublesome radio and TV stations. When necessary, they provide specific recordings, saying, ‘This is what is happening here.”
Asante explained that MFWA has equipped its media monitors with tools to track conversations on problematic stations.
He added, “The Situation Room will also address the rise of AI-generated fake content targeting political figures. You (media monitors) listen to all of them, and you realize that this has AI. This has been reproduced, and this will continue from now until December 7.”
He further mentioned, “Currently, we have 30 media monitors who have been trained to listen to radio and TV stations. They have been assigned to troublesome stations, and when necessary, they provide us with specific recordings to document what is happening.”
