The changing landscape of trust in the news in 🇿🇦
The evolving landscape of trust in the news continues to shape how consumers read, share, and pay attention to information. According to the 2024 Reuters Digital News Report, trust in the news in South Africa has declined to 57%, down from a peak of 61% in 2022, placing South Africa fourth out of the 47 markets surveyed.
Code For Africa's deputy CEO Chris Roper says that South Africa remains a trusted news environment. However, he highlights a growing scepticism among consumers towards online information, which may indicate the effectiveness of media literacy programmes.
Watch the full interview here: https://bit.ly/3y4UjLi
ICYMI 📸: On Friday, 12 July, we were at #IndabaX, a deep learning conference aimed at spreading knowledge and capacity in machine learning across the African continent.
Athandiwe Saba, iLAB's managing editor, presented a talk on how Code for Africa's iLAB team uses AI to identify, track, and expose information manipulation. In an interview on the sidelines of her talk, she discussed the urgent need for early education and information literacy. 👇🏽
Learn digital 🤳🏾 and data 📈 skills for social impact
🎉 We are excited to introduce to you our revamped e-learning website academy.Africa. As Africa's premier digital training initiative, we offer a diverse range of courses, from fact-checking and open source investigation to cutting-edge drone journalism and immersive 360° video production.
Join our dynamic learning communities to connect with fellow learners and industry experts! Stay ahead of the curve with cutting-edge resources and access to personalised mentorship. Current users get early access 🥳, so keep an eye on your inbox for details on how to explore the new site.
Stay tuned for more info!
Google News Initiative x Code For Africa | Pre-launch Lab for Kenya
Our 10-week programme, which began in January 2024, blends online and in-person networking sessions with industry experts who challenge prevailing assumptions about Kenya's digital media landscape. We're equipping early-stage media entrepreneurs with skills to thrive in a competitive digital marketplace.
Stay tuned for more updates! 🚀
💻 Recap: Code For Africa X #GoogleNewsInitive Pre-Launch Lab for Kenya
The 2nd session took place under the theme "Debunking Myths and Unveiling Opportunities - Tech Adoption in Media." We discussed leveraging social media, SMS, mobile journalism, and monetisation strategies like sponsorships, partnerships, and more. Exciting insights on AI tools and monetisation were also shared👇!
Using AI to your advantage!
Using AI to your advantage!
Talking about LLMs and AI tech at the AIJC - African Investigative Journalism Conference, Code For Africa’s Athandiwe Saba encouraged journalists to embrace the new technology.
🗣️“In the African context, where newsrooms don't have enough resources, certain kinds of work can be done by these huge language modelling systems and AI tools.”
How can journalists deal with legal woes? We asked Professor Dario Milo, partner at Webber Wentzel, about tangible actions for media professionals when confronted with legal threats.
He shared these tips:
➡️ Have a network of lawyers you can call on.
➡️ Find a community of NGO’s/Free speech organisations that can support you.
Watch more below:
😱 Why are 'forwarded as received' messages so scary?
It’s a key tactic in the circulation of toxic content because people who unknowingly spread false information think they're warning you about something dangerous.
✅ Experts suggest checking sources before sharing, even when the content seems believable.
👇 Here’s more info:
Know how to spot a dodgy document❓
Know how to spot a dodgy document❓
PesaCheck recently debunked a document allegedly from World Health Organization Kenya calling for the ban of second-hand clothes to reduce monkeypox transmission.
In this video by Viral Facts Africa, Managing Editor at PesaCheck Doreen Wainainah shares tips on how to spot doctored documents online.
#ViralFactsAfrica
📊 How can new data-driven tools produce public good?
Find out at this Global Digital Development Forum session on 4 May as Code For Africa's senior product manager Tricia Govindasamy showcases the achievements of the #Data4COVID19 Africa Challenge.
✍🏾 Sign up to attend here: digitaldevforum.course.tc/login
Introducing PesaYetu - a tool to boost your storytelling
Introducing PesaYetu - a tool to boost your storytelling
PesaYetu, created by Code for Africa, Kenya Community Media Network, CAMECO, German Cooperation gives journalists, researchers and activists the chance to explore data-driven stories in their community.
On the site you’ll get access to an interactive map showing county-specific development-related data, free datasets, a rich data function, downloadable charts and a 'pin and compare' function for comparison. #OurCountyOurResponsibility
Try out the tool here: https://pesayetu.pesacheck.org/
😱 Why are 'forwarded as received' messages so scary?
Because people who unknowingly spread false information think they're warning you about something dangerous.
⚠️ Remember to check other sources first before forwarding to friends and family.
😱 Why are 'forwarded as received' messages so scary?
It’s a key tactic in the circulation of toxic content because people who unknowingly spread false information think they're warning you about something dangerous.
✅ Experts suggest checking sources before sharing, even when the content seems believable.
👇 Here’s more info:
Do schools in Kenya own their title deeds?
Code For Africa iLAB project partner Africa Uncensored's 'My School, My Life' examines the work ShuleYangu Alliance is doing to prevent private developers from encroaching on public school land.
Africa Uncensored is launching the documentary with a screening on 9 August 2019. You can RSVP for the screening here: http://bit.ly/2OKpeVJ
This report is just one of the investigative pieces coming out of our iLAB partnership with DW Akademie. Code For Africa selected six trend-setting newsrooms in Kenya for the iLAB project, with the aim of equipping participating journalists with the knowledge and skills to compile, clean and verify data, as well as present thorough investigative stories.
New investigation:
NEW INVESTIGATION: Are rich foreigners + politicos disguising #LandGrabs as anti-poaching measures on the Kruger National Park border?
Buffer zones along the border of Kruger National Park target wildlife poaching. Displaced communities say it’s a land grab by rich foreigners aided by corrupt politicians.
Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism and ANCIR, with the help of AfricanDrone and in partnership with Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, investigate links between South African companies and Mozambique politicians making these deals.
Full story here: http://bit.ly/2qaoKIU #dominion
Nas Daily and Media Indaba
Viral videographer Nas Daily quit his job at Venmo a year ago. He now has 2.6 million followers on Facebook, and he's turned his daily 1-minute videos into a thriving business.
Meet him at Media Indaba Africa, Nov 23 - 25. Register, it's FREE.
Register here: https://mediaindaba.africa/
Media Indaba Africa 2017
It's time to register for Media Indaba, taking place in Cape Town on November 23 - 25.
Think data-driven journalism, the war against truth, robot journalism, test tube journalism, graphic journalism, data and the city - you know, just the important cool stuff. You want to be there.
Digital Journalism Training
Concerned you're becoming obsolete?
Future-proof yourself with free & easy digital journalism training by Africa's leading experts.
Modules range from 10min crash-courses that teach quick skills, to 30min deep dives into more complex techniques. Customise your course, and work at your own pace.
The courses are underwritten by Google News Lab and the World Bank, and are presented by industry experts from Code For Africa's StoryLab.
Register here: http://bit.ly/StoryLabAcademy2017
