Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/WikiFact-Checkers training for media professionals in Nigeria (ID: 22206053)
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Applicant Details edit
- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
semmy1960
- Organization
N/A
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
Other
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
Member of the Wikimedia Nigeria User Group and the leader of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism Wiki Fan Club
Main Proposal edit
- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
WikiFact-Checkers training for media professionals in Nigeria
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2023-09-01 - 2023-10-31
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
Nigeria
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Not applicable
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
There is today a seeming crisis in the information ecosystem, because of the high rate of misinformation and disinformation in the society. The advent of social media changed the way information is produced, disseminated, and consumed. This in turn is affecting the rate of content generation and invariably the quality of content being created on Wikipedia. Wikipedia content must come from reliable independent sources. But Wikipedia has no role or control whatsoever in the creation of the sources its Editors critically need to create on Wikipedia content. Diverse media professionals, totally independent of Wikipedia, are directly responsible for the quality of media content Wikipedia editors invariably rely on public or private media as content sources and references in Wikipedia articles. It is the journalists who have done their investigations before reporting their findings, the journal article and book authors who have had their articles or books, peer-reviewed, exactly like many other academicians and researchers, who are responsible for the reliability of the source references used in writing Wikipedia articles that therefore ultimately determine the reliability of the content of articles in Wikipedia. Sadly today, there is a substantial disconnect between what many media professionals are reporting and writing, and what they should really be writing if they were to write to educate, honestly inform and entertain in value-adding ways. The information circle has been polluted. There is not just a huge gap, but many gatekeepers in the information surgical theatre have become contaminated. Many media professionals are no longer writing today without biases. Particularly in Africa, many purveyors of information are no longer interested in informing to add value to others and society, but rather adding phantom flesh to wooden structures they are trying to portray as living skeletons in bids to sell their publications or platforms as profitably as possible. Having been involved in many Wikipedia projects in Nigeria, it has become obvious that at least in Africa, there is not enough reliable original source content to create as many articles as are desirable, on the diverse subjects deserving articles in Wikipedia. The few well-researched and reliable original information publications that could have been adequate and can serve us well in creating Wikipedia articles are stacked away in libraries across Africa, not accessible to most because they have remained on the shelves in the analog format that they have been for decades, mainly because of lack of digitization. Content contributions to Wikipedia from Africa are in critical need of a paradigm shift in today’s African media world and the practice of journalism on the continent. We are in critical need here of an Africa where every media professional or at least most media professionals here will be properly doing their jobs of detailed, well-researched, and unbiased reporting of diverse subjects, not just the subjects most attractive to readers and therefore, most commercially rewarding to the publishers or writing only on issues that the authors get the most of pecuniary rewards. We need a media in Africa today, not reporting only the “breaking news”, but writing and seeing to the publication of well-researched feature stories on subjects needing detailed pains-taking research for well-informed and incisive coverage. We need a new media orientation in Africa that will berth us an African media that will be regularly writing on subjects that are for now seen as “esoteric” and “technical” such as Climate Change, not just on more locally popular subjects such as national politics, cultural dances, and folk tales. We desire a new African media that will give substantial attention, even if not almost equal attention and coverage to media stories in Science and technology, as it does to locally popular and more desirable focus on such issues as global pop-culture subjects as fashion, football, and Sports generally, even as it reports on “less interesting” subjects such as African history and evolution of indigenous African languages. There is both a knowledge and information gap in Africa and consequentially in articles relating to Africa in Wikipedia. Minimal interests and very low investment in research for knowledge in Africa largely account for the knowledge gap in Africa itself. But the inherent weaknesses of the media industry in Africa and the dearth of digital archives, account for the huge information gap. This obviously translates to substantial inadequacy of the local African media and libraries of products of the African media, as effective information repositories, capable of responding acceptably to the lack of reliable media content that can and will serve as source references for more Wikipedia articles on diverse subjects in Africa. In Africa for example, we find it difficult to write biographies of our Legislators and many political appointees on Wikipedia because there are inadequate media references on them prior to their appointments mostly because journalists here in Africa mostly run after only “the breaking news” in politics or the economy and rarely on the experts or grassroots politicians before issues break out or the persons themselves, break out into national limelight. Our response to the challenges above will include direct engagement and interfacing between as many as possible media practitioners and media platform owners in Africa, starting with Nigeria. We will try to change their perception of Wikipedia and then get them to recognise the impact their work can make in enhancing the quality of open knowledge globally particularly with factual information on and about Africa. We will let media stakeholders in Nigeria see that it is to the ultimate benefit of humanity as a whole, that a well-informed repository of knowledge such as Wikipedia, must include as much information as possible on Nigeria and Africa. We will work towards the acceptance too, that we must all work together to ensure this because it is a desirable good for not just Nigerian and Nigerians, or only Africa and Africans, but also the world. How do we document our stories if the media is not writing and doing “their job” well? WikiFact-Checkers is a local African initiative working to bridge the information gap that is hindering the wider adoption of Wikipedia in Africa. We are starting in Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, also with a 184-year-old media history and effectively one of the oldest media histories on the continent. We strongly believe that by closing the wide information gap and promoting wider adoption of Wikipedia use in Nigeria, we will help bridge the wide knowledge gap, particularly about Wikipedia content. One of our goals is to popularise the use of Wikipedia in newsrooms across Africa. A medium-term goal is to ensure that as many as possible, if not all journalists in Africa, accept Wikipedia as not just a reliable information source, but also as the premier information store and repository of information about us here and a place where everyone across the world can freely have access such information as our contribution to free knowledge. One's mindset can be a hindrance to recognising an advantage. If the mindset of the media and media practitioners in Nigeria is right to their job and they accept responsibility towards ensuring appropriate information production, to teach, inform and positively entertain, then the knowledge gap in the content of the media in Africa, will be reduced. As we advocate for increased production of high-quality information and media content in Africa, we also want to improve the reliability of content that may be sourced from Wikipedia by increasing fact-checking of existing Wikipedia references using fact-checking tools and techniques. For our first training, we had 154 applicants sign up for the training, we were only able to train 50 participants in the first cohort The others are waiting for the follow-up training. ( The weblink for the Signup form for the first training is: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZvTKCftQc6WS4IhN0y6EFuGf6ffCTz_jgYyQdKSGPPU/edit?usp=sharing) We partnered with Code for Africa to train participants on Fact-checking. The project will, in a nutshell, be training media professionals on how to improve the credibility of Wikipedia content, using fact-checking tools, and also increase our advocacy on the importance of Wikipedia to reduce the knowledge gap in information production. From the post-training survey we conducted after the first part of the Wikifacts-Checkers Training, 90 percent of the participants said the training was relevant to their work and it was very important training. The link to the analysis:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hhu08IHzT-alOWAY41TG4CkVjQUM9moaQfPHNmLc7wg/edit?usp=sharing
One of the end goals of the WikiFact-Checkers initiative is to have a team of media professionals across Africa who are regularly working on the reliability of Wikipedia content and also helping to improve media and information literacy, using fact-checking while also closing existing knowledge gaps on various content topics in the media space and on Wikipedia. The meta page of WikiFact-Checkers is here https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiFact-Checkers/Overview
The WikiFact-Checkers training revealed the need to seriously discuss the reliability of Wikipedia. Three months after the training, we organised and held a partly self-funded conference to discuss the reliability of Wikipedia content. It was essentially a pre-workshop conference to plan a workshop that will look into the threat of weaponisation of the Open Source media concept. We brought together media professionals and Experienced Wikimedians to talk about some of the challenges already highlighted above and more.
The Conference was well reported in the media within and outside Nigeria. Some of the Conference reports are available at:
https://medium.com/@Misinfocon_Guest/3e4ff05281d7
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/05/media-stakeholders-brainstorm-to-prevent-weaponisation-of-open-source-wikipedia/
https://guardian.ng/opinion/weaponisation-of-open-source-media-libraries-part-2/
https://guardian.ng/opinion/weaponisation-of-open-source-media-libraries-part-3
The conference was largely partly self-funded because we saw a critical need in finding a solution to many of the issues militating against Wikipedia content reliability and the manifest gap in knowledge in the information being disseminated. The analysis of the feedback form from the Conference confirmed that the reliability of content on Wikipedia is a very big challenge and needed to be improved.
The analysis can be found at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TILb79Gqd-Ebf2DWFPrhNgRm8sQoLMWfULstlL4xG0g/edit?usp=sharing
While carrying out the project we realised we also had the issues with knowledge gap in terms of accessibility of content while doing the training
The List of Legislators we put together for article creation for example, had little content in the media space.
The link to the list of Nigerian Legislators,(In the 9th assembly)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IJySoFvKZPyXdS2JjsdrBYoYQCG2sO5P34ZhPM-DoYk/edit?usp=sharing
The list forced on us, a realisation that beyond improving the credibility of content on Wikipedia by fact-checking, we also needed to address the knowledge and information gap militating against quality content creation, which has been largely the lack of adequate content in the public media space. One of our strategic approaches to solving this problem is to have a one-day conference with stakeholders in the Nigerian media including diverse editors and publishers. The event will be online. We seek to get editors, who are the ones who set the agenda of what will be published in the media space, to have a proper understanding of what Wikipedia stands for, and how it can be of mutual benefit to them, their publishing media, citizens and the global community. We target the Conference to help us change the mindset about content publishing from only what sells, to also what also needs to be sold and made known to add value to their audiences. The topic of discussion: Bridging the knowledge gap in the information ecosystem to prevent weaponisation of open source Wikipedia. We will invite: Authors, Editors, Writers, Reporters, and Academicians. This ongoing project will bring the media community, authors as part of the Wikimedia community. As a trained journalist and trained Fact-checker I have seen the lacuna in our information dissemination, the reliability of information on Wikipedia, and the challenges of inadequate references because of low-level digitization of available analog media sources. We are essentially organising capacity-building training for media professionals. This is the second training. The first training was sponsored by the Wikicred team to improve the credibility of Wikipedia using Fact-checking. While doing the training we realised that we need to do a lot of advocacy and more training to bring more media professionals to understand how Wikipedia works and how important Wikipedia is to our information ecosystem. It will be a physical and online training event too. The training will run for eight weeks and we will be working on content on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikicommons.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
We will have Eight weeks of training for 35 people and Training for media professionals who have already signed up and shown interest . In the last training we had 154 participants showing interest but we could only accommodate 50 participants. Please find, just below here, the link to the signup form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZvTKCftQc6WS4IhN0y6EFuGf6ffCTz_jgYyQdKSGPPU/edit?usp=sharing On-boarding session online Advocacy first by organising a one-day discussion with stakeholders of the information ecosystem and Wikimedians across the globe to brainstorm together on these challenges Topic: Bridging the knowledge gap in the information ecosystem to prevent weaponisation of Open Source Wikipedia. (Online) Second online training: Introduction to Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation Third training (physical meetup) - Training on how to use Wikipedia, creating content on Wikipedia using the editing tools Fourth training ( Physical) Introduction to Wikidata and how to use Wikidata Fifth training ( Physical) Introduction to Wikicommons and how to use Wikicommons Sixth training(Online) Introduction to Fact-checking Seventh training (Online) Fact-checking Training Eight training(Online) Fact-checking Training Ninth training(Online) Fact-checking Training 10th training (Online) Introduction to Digital archiving
We will basically be training on how to use and contribute to Wikipedia, Wikicommons, Wikidata and how to fact-check Information on Wikipedia using fact-checking tools while also improving their media and information Literacy skills. The digital archiving training sessions will be on the use of basic digital archiving tools to: (a) create digital files of analog published or broadcast information and (b) capture online information and storage as proof of source.
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.
- Precious Obiorah : Project Coordination, Evaluation, Feedback analysis, Training, and mentoring (User:Prithee_P) An experienced Wikimedian
- Ayokannmi Oyeyemi- User: Kaizenify Trainer and project adviser dedicating time to the professionals for support ( Project Director Wikimedia Nigeria User Group)
- Rhoda James: Trainer and Graphic artist ( She is an experienced Wikimedian, She was the project lead for Wikidata for Nigerian Novelist and Novel, She facilitated the Wikidata for Libraries and Librarians in Nigeria, WikiGlam Awareness in Kwara State and unofficially facilitated other projects. She has participated in a series of contests such as WPWP 2020, Wikidata SDG's Contest 2021, Wiki Loves Africa 2021, WPWP2021, Wikidata(Media personalities in Nigeria) 2021, etc.
- Gbemisola Esho: Journalist, Fact-checker( Trainer and mentoring )https://dev.to/apinke
- Seun Ogunseitan: Digital archiving Trainer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27seun_Ogunseitan
- Babajide James:(User:obawinner) Communication and Social media manager
- Code for Africa Team
- Kemi Makinde: Project Lead (semmy1960)
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
Authors Print Journalist Broadcasters Advertisers Writers
We already have a WikiFact-Checkers Group where we engage with participants.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
N/A
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
I have announced on the Wikimedia Nigeria User Group community page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_User_Group_Nigeria#WikiFact-Checkers_training_for_media_professionals
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Cultural background, ethnicity, religion, racial
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Advocacy
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Age (diversity of age groups)
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Innovate in Free Knowledge
Learning and metrics edit
- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
I hope to learn how effective the approach to improve knowledge will work in terms of advocacy and partnering with information stakeholders
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 35 | We will train 35 participants. |
| Number of editors | 35 | 25 Newly registered editors who will create new accounts on a Wikimedia project and 10 returning editors. |
| Number of organizers | 8 | We have 8 people organising. 2 paid Trainers and the Code for Africa Team, project coordinators, communication experts, adviser |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 100 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 50 |
| Wikidata | 100 |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies |
- Optional description for content contributions.
Number of articles to be improved and created on Wikipedia is 100
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
Yes
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Event | Minimum number of physical events to hold | 3 |
| Number of online event | Minimum number of online events to organise | 5 |
| Number of participants | N/A | 25 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
Outreach Dashboard
Financial proposal edit
- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W63uXy2QUrA_vs13O5f6_vIVvFFZG3wehDGL3uHFLBQ/edit?usp=sharing
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
4003329.4 NGN
- 22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.
4947.08 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
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- Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
- Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).