Comparing Fact-checking Efforts across Five Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of UNDP’s iVerify

Abstract

This study shed light on the process of activation and implementation of iVerify, a UNDP-enabled fact-checking initiative, across five countries in sub-Saharan Africa: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Zambia. A content analysis of 1093 fact-checking materials revealed main themes and the scope of factually accurate and inaccurate news distributed in these countries during the election cycles and beyond. The findings also demonstrated how the fact-checking process was institutionalized and discussed similarities and differences in the implementation of this initiative. The analysis showed that fact-checkers not only played an active role as gatekeepers identifying which news to fact-check (e.g., identifying which news needs to be double checked for integrity and possible debunking), but also played an active role in shaping the information flow through verifying the information and making decisions which sources to use to confirm or debunk the news. Thus, fact-checkers had considerable power over final verdicts and over labeling news as true, false, or misleading. Such power further challenged the traditional gatekeeping process of not only traditional media but also digital media and influencers whose narratives gained traction before fact-checkers could intervene.