Fact Check Sites List: With The Rise of Fake Social Media Accounts & Propaganda

Friday, 4 August 2023

By: TB Obwoge

There are some fact check accounts that spend their time chasing down fake news and information that is false. These false pages have increased over the last few years, especially since the Russia War.

Russia is very, very good at spreading propaganda, even when there is real, credible news happening around the world, Russian media has to put a spin on it. This is helping to destabilize Africa, where African youth are calling these rebellions an awakening. Others see this as a push from the propaganda machine.

If these were true rebellions, which I personally believe Africa needs, these citizens would not instantly have Russian flags flying in the air. How are some of the worlds most impoverished humans owning so many Russian flags?

Though this question might offend many, it needs to be asked, these people don't even own their own country's flag yet have Russia's?

Social Media Users Using Capitan Ibrahim Traoré's Imagine & Name & Posting Are Helping Propaganda Makers

After the newest leader of Burkina Faso took office, he asked that people would refrain from using his image and name to create accounts. It was said at that time, that he had no official social media accounts. That has changed and these accounts are also verified as being real, not just paid for to obtain the verifications.

Russians boasted that just 1% of fake social profiles are caught, leak shows

The Russian operators of those accounts boast that they are detected by social networks only about 1 percent of the time, one document says.

That claim, described here for the first time, drew alarm from former government officials and experts inside and outside social media companies contacted for this article.

“Google and Meta and others are trying to stop this, and Russia is trying to get better. The figure that you are citing suggests that Russia is winning,” said Thomas Rid, a disinformation scholar and professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He added that the 1 percent claim was probably exaggerated or misleading.

The undated analysis of Russia’s effectiveness at boosting propaganda on Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram and other social media platforms cites activity in late 2022 and was apparently presented to U.S. military leaders in recent months. It is part of a trove of documents circulated in a Discord chatroom and obtained by The Washington Post. Air National Guard technician Jack Teixeira was charged Friday with taking and transmitting the classified papers, charges for which he faces 15 years in prison.

The revelations about Russia’s improved misinformation abilities come as Twitter owner Elon Musk and some Republicans in Congress have accused the federal government of colluding with the tech companies to suppress right-wing and independent views by painting too many accounts as Russian attempts at foreign influence. A board set up to coordinate U.S. government policy on disinformation was disbanded last year after questions were raised about its purpose and a coordinated campaign was aimed at the person who had been selected to lead it.

Source: Washington Post

There are few small networks that aim to dismantle misinformation spread through social media, media, blogger and vloggers as well as meme makers. These are some of those sites:

Africa Check sorts fact from fiction

We identify important public statements, interrogate the best available evidence and publish fact-checking reports to guide public debate.

Source: AfricaFactCheck.Org

Dubawa

Established in 2018, is a West African independent verification and fact-checking project, initiated by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID). It has a presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia. Dubawa’s mission is to institute a culture of truth and verification in public discourse and journalism through strategic partnerships between the media, government, civil society organisations, technology giants and the public.

Source: Dubawa

Congo Check

Fact-checking in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their aim is to fight misinformation through verification and also follow up on promises made by leaders. Also in French and English, site loads in French with the option of changing to English

Source: Congo Check

Ghana Fact

Ghana Fact project by FactSpace West Africa established in 2019 and aimed at curbing the spread of disinformation on traditional and social media. As Ghana’s independent digital fact-checking project, the platform seeks to target, correct the spread of false or misleading claims or statements.

Source: Ghana Fact

Pesa Check

Pesa Check, was established in 2016 and was initially focused on verifying the financial and other statistical numbers quoted by public figures in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Now Africa’s largest fact-checking platform with full-time fact-checkers in 12 countries in both East and West Africa.

Source: Pesa Check

Zim Fact

Zim Fact Zimbabwe’s national, independent, non-partisan fact-checking platform. Their focus is on the announcements by public officials, media reports as well as any user-generated content.

Source: Zim Fact . Org

Fact Check Hub

FactCheckHub a verification platform of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. Like all the rest it's aimed and stopping the spread of misinformation.

Source: FactCheckHub.Com

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