The project, “Capacity Building for Civil Society to Combat Misinformation in Central African Republic,” was developed by CentrafriqueCheck, formerly known as the Association of Fact-Checkers of Central Africa (AFC), with funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
As part of this project, we organized an awareness session on rumor management for community leaders on Wednesday, September 27, to help them identify and prevent the spread of misinformation related to security in the Central African Republic.
A total of forty (40) community leaders, including at least twenty (20) women from various districts of Bangui, Bégoua, and Bimbo, participated in this two-day session aimed at equipping them to better identify and address security-related rumors within their communities. This is a major concern for the country as it strives to overcome its security crisis.
The program for the first day included several modules such as: How to identify rumors, The impact of rumors and misinformation within Central African communities, The role of community leaders in combating rumors and misinformation within their communities, followed by a Q&A session.
These topics will help participants better prepare to use best practices in fact-checking, develop critical thinking skills, and raise awareness in their communities. In a country at war, where accurate information has become a matter of life or death, these skills are crucial.
Participants particularly emphasized the importance of spreading messages of peace through fact-checking within their communities. They also stressed the crucial role of media in fighting misinformation by disseminating accurate information.
This session represents an important step in the fight against rumors and misinformation within communities in the Central African Republic.
