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

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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.

PARTNERS

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Our Mission

Misinformation has become an ‘infodemic’ that is too big for any one organisation to solve. The flood of misleading toxic information is undermining our societies. We all need to protect the truth, by fighting back with facts. These awards are intended to celebrate the pioneering citizens and organisations across Africa, who are exposing false information in innovative ways.