Video
journalist Edem Srem and his team from MultiTvWorld in Ghana on Friday won the
first-ever African Fact-Checking Awards, honouring journalism in Africa that
exposes misleading claims by public figures.
The
awards, launched this year by the AFP Foundation and its African fact-checking
project, Africa Check, are the first of their kind and aimed at promoting a new
and important form of journalism on the continent.
More
than 40 journalists from 10 countries across Africa took part in the
competition. The countries include Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria,
South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe submitted entries for the
award.
The
winning entry, "Trading Ghana's water for gold", is a hard-hitting
video report that exposed misleading claims by the government in Ghana to have
eradicated the risky practice of alluvial gold mining in the west African
country.
The
two joint runners up were Paul Shalala of the Zambia National Broadcasting
Corporation, for a report on false claims made about the impact of
multi-national mining investment on food security in his country, and Victor
Amadala of the website kenyakidz.com for a report debunking
a superstition that leads parents to have the teeth of new born babies removed.
The
winning team will receive a total of €2,000 (US$2,500) in prize money while
each runner up will receive €1,000.
"I
think there is nothing more important in journalism than holding people to
account for the promises and the claims they make," Srem said.
"I
am very honoured, on behalf of myself and my team to win this award for that
work."
The
chairman of the AFP Foundation, Emmanuel Hoog, said in a statement: "By
taking claims made by public figures, and by checking them rigorously and
impartially, these African reporters and editors are defending the best values
of journalism. They are also helping to promote openness and transparency in
public affairs."
The
winners were selected by a jury of prominent media figures chaired by Eric
Chinje, the chief executive of African Media Initiative, a body bringing
together leaders of hundreds of African media organisations.
"I
hope this award serves as a call to excellence and integrity in journalism
everywhere in Africa. The jury readily identified entries that demonstrated a
high level of professionalism and balance in reporting," Chinje said.
The
AFP Foundation, the non-profit media training arm of AFP news agency, in
October 2012 launched the continent's first independent fact-checking project,
the website africacheck.org, based in Johannesburg,
South Africa, in a partnership with the Journalism Department of the University
of the Witwatersrand.
It
has since published hundreds of reports on topics from fake claims of health
cures, to exposes of misleading statements about water quality on the continent
and the effect of gun control legislation on murder rates.
Credit: Penplusbytes
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