The second session of “The Verifiers,” a four-part training series hosted by the BO Foundation for Inclusive Media (BOFIM) and supported by Witness, focused on equipping journalists and media professionals with crucial skills for fact-checks.
The session’s facilitator, Georgia Edwards, Program Coordinator for Video as Evidence at Witness, began the session by introducing the concept of OSINT, explaining that it is vital for journalists and human rights defenders to leverage open-source information to verify the authenticity of content in today’s digital world.
“Open-source information is not just about looking for images online; it’s about using various techniques and methods to assess, corroborate, and verify the footage or evidence you encounter,” Edwards said.
She emphasized that with the rise of misinformation and disinformation, particularly around sensitive topics like human rights abuses, the need for verifiable evidence is more important than ever.
Edwards went on to discuss the challenges facing communities, particularly in Nigeria, where state actors and other powerful entities have often attempted to delegitimize citizens’ claims. She cited the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria as an example of how powerful forces can discredit public claims of human rights violations.
“There is an erosion of trust in audiovisual media, which places a greater burden on communities to defend their truth,” she stated. “This leaves them vulnerable to delegitimization, even when they are presenting truthful claims.”
Georgia Edwards also discussed a collaborative approach taken by Witness in developing the Fortifying Community Truth Cohort.
According to her, the community is a group of journalists and fact-checkers from West and Central Africa. The journalists have been trained to develop methodologies for verifying audiovisual content, allowing them to better defend community-based footage and resist efforts by powerful states or groups to deny the truth.
Edwards then outlined the session’s key tools and techniques, with a particular emphasis on community-based visual verification, a method designed to empower journalists to authenticate audiovisual content and build more compelling cases for truth.
“At Witness, we developed a methodology for community-based researchers and fact-checkers to follow, allowing them to assess both the source and content of the footage, as well as find additional materials to corroborate their findings,” Edwards explained.
She introduced the six-step verification process developed by Witness, which covers everything from source assessment and content analysis to geolocation and chronology.
This process enables journalists to not only understand where and when a video was filmed but also to assess the credibility of the footage itself. “We’re looking at how we can use open-source tools to find as much information as possible to support the truth and resist the spread of misinformation,” she said.
Edwards further explained the importance of archiving verified data, stressing that journalists should store footage and other content in a way that allows for future analysis. This is particularly important in cases where social media platforms may remove videos or images that document protests or human rights abuses.
“Archiving is crucial to ensuring that footage is preserved before it’s deleted, and it also helps journalists stay organized,” she added.
The discussion also touched the evolving nature of conflict reporting, as more and more individuals document events using their own cameras and mobile phones.
Edwards noted that the rise of citizen journalism has drastically changed how conflicts are reported and documented. “Today, journalists don’t need to be on the ground to report—much of the footage we rely on comes from those who witness events firsthand and share their stories online,” she said.
One example of how these tools can be applied was shared by Opeyemi Lawal, a journalist who used verification techniques to investigate claims of police brutality in Nigeria.
Lawal recounted her experience working on a case involving Nigerian police officers caught on video allegedly harassing individuals.
“I had to use various verification tools to identify where the video was filmed and to prove that it wasn’t doctored,” Lawal explained.
She also detailed how she had analyzed the color of the bus in the video and reviewed the comments section to track down additional information.
“When we identify and verify videos like this, we can hold institutions accountable,” she said. “We can demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.”
The session concluded with a discussion on how journalists can use basic Google search techniques to dig deeper into sources and verify information.
Edwards emphasized that verifying content requires patience and persistence, but it is a very important skill in today’s media landscape. She also noted that journalists should be aware of the potential biases in the content they come across and should always cross-check multiple sources before reporting.
Blessing Oladunjoye, the Executive Director of BOFIM, concluded the training by reminding the participants to employ the use of the taught tools
“We believe that this training will empower our Verifiers to produce high-quality, accurate reports,” she said. “Moreover, we are particularly proud to have disability rights advocates and women actively participating in this program. This is part of our commitment to inclusivity and ensuring that all communities are represented in the fight for human rights.”
As the training progresses, BOFIM promised to continue to focus on equipping the journalists with the tools needed to fight misinformation and disinformation.