CONTEST
OPENS
15th February 2021
APPLICATION
DEADLINE
31st March 2021
FINALISTS
ANNOUNCED
15th May 2021
WINNERS
ANNOUNCED
31st May 2021
PEOPLE POWER!
Fact-checking is too important to be left just to the media.
We all need to be watchdogs, protecting our societies from harmful mis-/disinformation and hate speech.
These pan-African awards will showcase the brave pioneers who are using facts and reason to debunk false information and expose the hidden sock-puppet networks who are subverting our societies.
The awards are open to both individuals and organisations.
You could be a community activist (such as an environmentalist or human rights defender), or a researcher (both in academia and civil society), or a civic watchdog (such as a budget/policy analyst or grassroots service delivery monitor), or a storyteller (such as journalists, social influencers or artistic creatives), or even just an amatuer armchair pundit.
Your debunk must be fact-based.
We fight falsehoods with facts. Your fact-checking should use verifiable evidence, from credible sources (the more the better) and a transparent methodology to separate fiction from fact. The best fact-checking is also contextualised, showing evidence that reflects local realities.
Your fact-checks must have been published.
Your debunk must have been published on a public platform, either in the mainstream media or online, or as publicly accessible research. You must be able to show that your fact-checking reached a meaningful audience (size isn’t always important), and that it created a tangible impact or that it shifted public discourse.
People Power
This flagship award recognizes ordinary citizens or communities who substantively debunk mis-/disinformation on issues of public interest using fact-driven research/evidence.
Fighting Hate
This award recognizes data/evidence-driven fact-checking that debunks misogynistic, xenophobic, racist, fundamentalist, or other toxic hate speech.
Truth to Power
This award recognizes citizen/civic watchdogs whose fact-checking corrects misleading information from government or other official agencies.
Facts Matter
This award recognizes academic or scientific/economic research that clarifies misleading information on issues of major public interest.
Troll Buster
This award recognizes forensic analysis or investigative research that unmasks the hidden puppet-masters or sock-puppets who deliberately try to distort or subvert public discourse.
Guardian
This award recognizes data/evidence-driven fact-checking that substantively debunks health conspiracies, climate denialism, environmental disinformation (relating, for example, to the mining/extractive industries), and other quackery.
CASH PRIZES
Winners will receive a cash prize of $1,000 in each of the six award categories, in appreciation for their courage, diligence and perseverance.
Runners-up in each of the categories will receive $500.
FELLOWSHIPS
All winners will offered fellowships to amplify their work, including opportunities to showcase projects at international conferences or to syndicate their content to reach a global audience.
MENTORING
Winners will also receive ongoing research support, digital tools, and editorial mentorship from Code for Africa’s network of continental labs, as well as one-on-one workshops and other training support.