ECOWAS AND GERMAN Cooperation Equip Nigerian Media Professionals with Skills to Foster Information Integrity and Combat Misinformation

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and the German Cooperation are partnering with the media in Nigeria to improve the skills of journalists and media professionals on fact-checking, Media Information Literacy (MIL) and promoting information integrity in the ECOWAS region.

40 journalists from broadcast, print and online media will be trained over 2 days (March 5 – March 6, 2025), in Abuja Nigeria in collaboration with partners – Center for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID) and Media Foundation West Africa (MFWA).

The engagement with the media is in line with promoting ECOWAS Vision 2050 – A community of peoples fully integrated in a peaceful, prosperous region, with strong institutions that respect fundamental freedoms and work for inclusive and sustainable development.

Speaking on the importance of the training, the Head of Communications Division, Mr. Joel Ahofodji said: ‘For some time now, ECOWAS has been seriously confronted with the problems of misinformation, disinformation and fake news, which threatens the stability of our institutions and our member states. This training comes at an important time for the ECOWAS region, as we need to mobilise all stakeholders to combat this scourge and promote the integrity of information in our regional space. The training will provide media professionals with the essential tools they need to promote news and messages that not only inform the public but also reinforce the truth, present facts that counter misinformation in the region and safeguard democracy’, added Mr Ahofodji.

The trainings are being organized by the ECOWAS Commission, in partnership with the Centre For Journalism Innovation & Development (CJID) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) with technical and financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Organisational Development Programme, Support to the ECOWAS Commission, which is implemented with support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

The ECOWAS Commission recognizes the critical role the media plays in fostering peace, stability, and social cohesion. Given the negative impact of misinformation, disinformation, and the rising socio-political and security challenges within the West African sub- region, the need for a responsible, ethical, and well-informed media cannot be overemphasized.

The Nigeria Cohort of the media training is the beginning of a series of trainings planned in all ECOWAS member states. The trainings seek to equip media professionals with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to promote information integrity, responsible journalism; counter misinformation and disinformation in the region.

Among other goals of the training is to build networks among media practitioners to exchange best practices and strategies for countering disinformation, misinformation and promoting peace, democracy, good governance and inclusive and sustainable development within the ECOWAS Community.

ECOWAS is working across West Africa with partners and governments to promote cooperation and integration, to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations-among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.