FactSpace West Africa

FactSpace West Africa

Company type	Non-profit organization
Industry	Journalism
Founded	2019;6 years ago (2019)
Headquarters	Ghana, Accra , The Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Number of locations	5 countries
Area served	West Africa
Key people	Rabiu Alhassan (Managing Editor/Director)
Services	Fact checking
Website	factspace.org

FactSpace West Africa is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to independent fact-checking, disinformation mapping, and promoting information integrity in West Africa. ^[1] They are a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) Code of Principles which regulates how they work. ^{[2] [3]}

History

FactSpace West Africa was launched in 2019 by Ghanaian journalist Rabiu Alhassan, the organisation is currently leading fact-checking initiatives in five countries in the subregion, including Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, The Gambia and Sierra Leone. ^[4]

FactSpace West Africa combats the weaponisation of misinformation and disinformation by:

• Fact-checking to counter false narratives.
• Researching information ecosystems and the actors behind information disorder.
• Educating journalists and the public through media information literacy training. ^[5]
• Developing digital tools to fight the spread of false information.

On 2 April 2020, FactSpace West Africa became a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) Code of Principles. ^[6]

Partnerships

FactSpace West Africa has collaborated with organisations including the World Health Organization, UNESCO, UNICEF, ^[7] Meta, Meedan, ECOWAS, USAID, Africa Check, the Google News Initiative, DW Akademie, ^[8] Fact-Check Ghana and the IFCN, among other international NGOs, to strengthen information resilience. ^[9]

Work

In 2024, during the Ghanaian elections, FactSpace West Africa in collaboration with Fact-Check Ghana, Dubawa and other organizations created the Ghana fact-checking coalition to combat misinformation. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

See also

• List of common misconceptions
• Fact-checking  – Process of verifying information in non-fictional text

References

1. GNA (2024-03-04). "FactSpace West Africa holds capacity building workshop for media practitioners". Ghana News Agency. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
2. Sam, Stacey (2024-06-28). "Ghana to host 2024 Africa Facts Summit". Asaase Radio. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
3. Amissah, Emmanuel Jacob (23 November 2024). "GhanaFact engages media personalities in Media Integrity and Fact-Checking workshop amid the December 7th elections". Ghana.web.com. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
4. Salisu, Mustapha (2024-04-17). "FactSpace West Africa Equip Kano Journalists with Social Media Fact-Checking Tools". Prime Time News. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
5. Etefe, Juliet (2022-11-28). "AW Free Foundation, FactSpace West Africa train Togolese journalists on fact-checking". The Business & Financial Times. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
6. GNA (2024-12-02). "FactSpace West Africa equips journalists with digital tools for fact-checking". Ghana News Agency. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
7. Majeed, Abdulai (2024-10-03). "UNICEF and FactSpace West Africa trains journalists on the basics of identifying health misinformation and disinformation". Diamond 93.7FM. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
8. "Fact-checking as a social contract". Deutsche Welle. 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
9. Holan, Angie Drobnic (2024-12-05). "Africa's fact-checking community shows its growing strength in collaboration, investigations". Poynter. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
10. Times, Ghanaian (2024-11-14). "NMC welcomes Ghana Fact-Check Coalition initiative". Ghanaian Times. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
11. "Ghana's new fact-checking coalition gears up for election season - MyJoyOnline" . Retrieved 2025-11-11.
12. "Election 2024: NMC welcomes formation of Ghana Fact-Checking Coalition". 2024-11-10. Retrieved 2025-11-11.

External links

• Official website