Organization: Africa Check
Applicant: Laura Kapelari
Assessor: Laurent Bigot
Conclusion and recommendations
Laurent Bigot wrote:
According to my second assessment, I think Africa Check continues to be a reliable fact-checking partner. This media is compliant with every principles enacted by the IFCN.
The few improvements they have made after the first assessment are conclusive and effective.
Laurent Bigot recommended Accept
Section 1: Organization
Criterion 1a
Proof of registration
Evidence required: Please provide evidence that the signatory is a legally-registered organization set up exclusively for the purpose of fact-checking or the distinct fact-checking project of a recognized media house or research institution.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Africa Check is registered as a non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) in the UK. Details of our registration can be found on this link. https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08119885.
The registration number of our Trust in South Africa is: IT000728/2015(C), registered with the Master of the High Court in Cape Town. Copies of the statutes of association for both our UK and South African organisations, setting out our purpose, will be sent if requested.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Africa Check is a legally registered organization set up exclusively for the purpose of fact-checking.
All the evidence of its legal registration are presented in the “About us” or “A propos” section here: https://africacheck.org/about-us/
Africa Check is registered as a non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) in the UK. Details of their registration can be found on this link: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08119885
done_all 1a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 1b
Archive
Evidence required: Insert a link to the archive of fact checks published in the previous three months. If you do not collect all fact checks in one place, please explain how the fact-checking is conducted by your organization.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
All reports published to date on our site in English can be found on this link:
https://africacheck.org/latest-reports/
All reports published to date on our site in French can be found on this link:
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Africa Check publishes reports about the accuracy of claims regularly, in French and in English. They have published several fact-checks a week for the last past three months. All their work, since 2012, is published here:
done_all 1b marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 2: Nonpartisanship and Fairness
Criterion 2a
Body of work sample
Evidence required: Please share links to ten fact checks that better represent the scope and consistency of your fact-checking. Provide a short explanation of how your organization strives to maintain coherent standards across fact checks.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
On our French and English-language sites, Africa Check selects claims to check based on the reach and importance of the claim to the public, and the potential impact it might have on society if not checked. Africa Check does not advocate for any matter except the availability of quality data. We seek to fact-check all relevant sides in any debate, and apply the same methodology to all our reports.
The process is as follows:
START WITH THE CLAIM: We start every fact-checking report with the claim or claims someone has made. If the claim is sourced in a news report, the editor always seeks to verify with the speaker or their office exactly what was said and the context.
CHECK THE EVIDENCE: Once the claim is established, the most important step is to find good reliable sources of evidence to check the claim against. This is evidence in the public domain that verifies or contradicts what has been said, data from a public database, the findings of academic studies, the opinion of established experts, or other sources.
REPORT WRITING: The report format is standardised to follow a set pattern – a headline that is easy-to- read and deliver the report’s conclusion; a body that sets out the claim we are investigating and a conclusion based on our finding. We also summarise the claim and the finding in table for easy reference.
EXAMPLES OF FACTCHECKS THAT DEMONSTRATE OUR NON-PARTISANSHIP
1] IN ENGLISH
With 2017 being an election year in Kenya, we paid a lot of attention to the claims and campaigns of the incumbent and his main challenger, plus their respective parties.
1 & 2) we fact-checked the two competing "State of the Nation" addresses by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his opponent Raila Odinga in similar manner.
See:
(i) https://africacheck.org/reports/fact-checked-kenyattas-2017-state-nation-address/
(ii) https://africacheck.org/reports/fact-checked-claims-from-kenyas-alternative-state-of-the-nation/
3 & 4) When the manifestos were launched, we vetted the key claims they contained, again to the same standard and manner.
See:
(i). The Jubilee Party manifesto: 5 claims fact-checked
https://africacheck.org/reports/jubilee-party-manifesto-4-claims-fact-checked/
(ii). The Nasa opposition manifesto: 5 claims fact-checked
https://africacheck.org/reports/checked-5-claims-kenya-nasa-opposition-manifesto/
5 & 6) As for South Africa, we paid most attention to the ruling African National Congress (ANC), given the greater reach and impact of that a ruling party’s claims have in most countries compared to those of opposition parties, but also fact-checked important claims by opposition parties.
See:
(i) Is South Africa ‘feeding its people toxins’, as the IFP alleges?
https://africacheck.org/reports/is-south-africa-feeding-its-people-toxins-as-the-ifp-alleges/
(ii) The flaw in SA’s ‘real’ matric pass rate figure (as calculated by the EFF & DA)
7) As for the recently past president of the ANC, we found 12 of the 20 claims in his 2017 State of the Nation Address that we evaluated to be correct.
See:
(i) https://africacheck.org/reports/facts-alternative-facts-zumas-10th-state-nation-address-checked
8 & 9) In December, we faulted Zuma for a wrong electricity statistic:
(i)Zuma wrong – more than 34% of SA homes had electricity access in 1994
(ii) But we followed this by finding in his favour in this fact-check, pointing out he was charged with 18 crimes of fraud & corruption – not 783
10) As further proof of non-partisan we also evaluated a claim by a known and vocal critic of Africa Check and found it to be mostly correct:
See:
Do 1.7 million people pay 80% of SA’s income tax?
https://africacheck.org/reports/1-7-million-people-pay-80-sas-income-tax/
2] IN FRENCH
See more examples from our French-language site, illustrating our approach.
1) Une polémique a opposé le député et opposant Ousmane Sonko au ministre des Infrastructures au sujet du coût du train devant relier le nouvel aéroport à la ville de Dakar. 568 milliards FCFA, selon le ministre. Selon nous, l’opposant a eu raison.
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/senegal-train-expres-regional-coute-t-568-milliard/
2) Le même leader politique de l’opposition a tenu, quelques mois auparavant, des propos qui, selon nous encore, n’étaient pas exacts, sur la découverte du pétrole au Sénégal.
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/la-decouverte-du-petrole-au-senegal-remonte-t-elle-a-2000/
3) La Francophonie a décerné le Prix francophone de l’innovation dans les médias à Africa check au mois d’avril 2017. En janvier 2018 on a publié cet article:
4) Cette article passe en revue des promesses tenues, non tenues ou en cours de réalisation par Macky Sall, président du Sénégal.
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/nouvel-an-macky-sall-a-t-reaslise-promesses-sante-2017/
5) Idem pour Alassane Ouattara au Cote d'Ivoire.
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/infrastructures-sanitaires-ouattara-a-t-honore-engagements-2017/
6) Ce fact-check confirme les propos du ministre du Tourisme sur la défiscalisation du Tourisme dans le Sud du Sénégal.
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/senegal-tourisme-reellement-defiscalise-casamance/
7) Quelques mois auparavant, Africa Check avait mis en exergue des propos erronés du ministre sur l’âge d’un opposant.
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/non-monsieur-le-ministre-idrissa-seck-naura-pas-63-ans-en-2017/
8) Cet article est la preuve que quand le gouvernement a raison, nous publions également après vérification.
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/prix-zircon-donnees-confirment-aly-ngouille-ndiaye/
9) Dans cet article, Africa Check met en exergue un mensonge de la société nationale de télécom sur la taille de son datacenter.
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/senegal-sonatel-tigo-ont-surevalue-leurs-datacenters/
10) Quelques mois avant, un de nos fact-checks portait sur des chiffres contestés publiés par la SONATEL et qui, après vérification, étaient exacts.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Africa Check selects 10 English and ten French fact-checks to prove scope and consistency of its work:
ENGLISH
1 & 2) (i) https://africacheck.org/reports/fact-checked-kenyattas-2017-state-nation-address/
(ii) https://africacheck.org/reports/fact-checked-claims-from-kenyas-alternative-state-of-the-nation
3 & 4) (i). https://africacheck.org/reports/jubilee-party-manifesto-4-claims-fact-checked
(ii). https://africacheck.org/reports/checked-5-claims-kenya-nasa-opposition-manifesto
5 & 6) (i) https://africacheck.org/reports/is-south-africa-feeding-its-people-toxins-as-the-ifp-alleges
7) (i) https://africacheck.org/reports/facts-alternative-facts-zumas-10th-state-nation-address-checked
10) https://africacheck.org/reports/1-7-million-people-pay-80-sas-income-tax
2] IN FRENCH
1) https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/senegal-train-expres-regional-coute-t-568-milliard
2) https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/la-decouverte-du-petrole-au-senegal-remonte-t-elle-a-2000
4) https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/nouvel-an-macky-sall-a-t-reaslise-promesses-sante-2017
5) https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/infrastructures-sanitaires-ouattara-a-t-honore-engagements-2017
6) https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/senegal-tourisme-reellement-defiscalise-casamance
7) https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/non-monsieur-le-ministre-idrissa-seck-naura-pas-63-ans-en-2017
8) https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/prix-zircon-donnees-confirment-aly-ngouille-ndiaye
9) https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/senegal-sonatel-tigo-ont-surevalue-leurs-datacenters
These examples show that Africa Check covers a variety of speakers (pro and anti-government, different countries and political parties, etc.) and that its fact-checks are non-partisan work.
The Africa Check team also explains how they maintain standards across fact-checks:
On our French and English-language sites, Africa Check selects claims to check based on the reach and importance of the claim to the public, and the potential impact it might have on society if not checked. Africa Check does not advocate for any matter except the availability of quality data. We seek to fact-check all relevant sides in any debate, and apply the same methodology to all our reports. The process is as follows:
START WITH THE CLAIM: We start every fact-checking report with the claim or claims someone has made. If the claim is sourced in a news report, the editor always seeks to verify with the speaker or their office exactly what was said and the context.
CHECK THE EVIDENCE: Once the claim is established, the most important step is to find good reliable sources of evidence to check the claim against. This is evidence in the public domain that verifies or contradicts what has been said, data from a public database, the findings of academic studies, the opinion of established experts, or other sources.
REPORT WRITING: The report format is standardised to follow a set pattern – a headline that is easy-to- read and deliver the report’s conclusion; a body that sets out the claim we are investigating and a conclusion based on our finding. We also summarise the claim and the finding in table for easy reference.
done_all 2a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 2b
Nonpartisanship policy
Evidence required: Please share evidence of your policy preventing staff from direct involvement in political parties and advocacy organizations. Please also indicate the policy your organization has as a whole regarding advocacy and supporting political candidates.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
At their interview stage, all Africa Check staff are asked about current or past direct involvement in political or advocacy organisations. Candidates are not hired if they have in the past or at present held an active role in any political party. The fundamental importance for our work of non-partisanship is discussed regularly at staff meetings and staff are all required to ensure that their personal communication on social media meets these standards. Africa Check takes no advocacy position on any issue save for the importance of data transparency and accuracy. Africa Check never has and never will support any political party.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Africa Check explains its policies to preserve its non-partisan way of fact-checking claims on a page titled “Our principles” here:
https://africacheck.org/about-us/our-principles/
http://fr.africacheck.org/a-propos/nos-principes/
Its code of principles evokes nonpartisanship, fairness, transparency of sources, transparency of founding & organization, transparency of methodology, commitment to open honest corrections…
It precises that “the claims (they) make need to be checked, openly and impartially. Africa Check is an independent, non-partisan organisation which assesses claims made in the public arena using journalistic skills and evidence drawn from the latest online tools, readers, public sources and experts, sorting fact from fiction and publishing the results.”
The Africa Check team also explains:
“At their interview stage, all Africa Check staff are asked about current or past direct involvement in political or advocacy organisations. Candidates are not hired if they have in the past or at present held an active role in any political party. The fundamental importance for our work of non-partisanship is discussed regularly at staff meetings and staff are all required to ensure that their personal communication on social media meets these standards. Africa Check takes no advocacy position on any issue save for the importance of data transparency and accuracy. Africa Check never has and never will support any political party.”
done_all 2b marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 3: Transparency of Sources
Criterion 3a
Sources Policy
Please share a brief and public explanation (500 words max) of how sources are provided in enough detail that readers could replicate the fact check. If you have a public policy on how you find and use sources for your fact-checking, it should be shared here.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
The process we use to produce our work hinges on being transparent about how we find and use sources in our reports, factsheets and guides.
Once a claim is established, the most important step is to find good reliable sources of evidence to check the claim against. This can be evidence in the public domain that verifies or contradicts what has been said, data from a public database, the findings of academic studies, the opinion of established experts, or other sources.
When we find good sources, they are added to both our report and to the resources section of the website – Info Finder – for others to use.
• Always use primary sources if possible
We endeavour to use primary sources for all our report whether in the form of a recording, a transcript, a database or other verifiable primary source if possible. Secondary sources are used periodically where necessary but are properly checked and attributed.
• Databases and credible sources
The Info Finder section lists databases and studies that we found credible while researching our reports. When looking for credible studies and databases on new reports, the researcher searches here first. We also provide as much explanation as required about the quality of information and any relevant caveats to enable the reader to assess the likely accuracy of the information. We also try to provide some context to the source of data by explaining, where we can, how the data should be read and understood.
• Expert analysis
Where we cannot ourselves access data, we seek insight and quote an expert in the field as commentator. Where we do quote an expert, we identify clearly who they are, who they work for, and any allegiances they may have that might affect their analysis. We also state whether we spoke to them directly and when. And if we did not, we say where we got the remarks from.
• Use of anonymous sources
All the evidence we use is verifiable by us before we publish it. If a source agrees to send us information, but demands anonymity, we cannot use it as source material if it cannot be verified, either directly or indirectly, by our readers and us.
• Provide a link, PDF or other evidence where possible
Another guiding principle of Africa Check is that our reports should be not just verified, by us, but verifiable by our readers and that means we have to provide the evidence we base our judgements on – links, PDFS and other such documents – not just the judgements themselves. If such documents are used, we add them to the report and add them to the Info Finder section.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
The Africa Check’s code of principles mentions the transparency of sources and the transparency of methodology as important rules. Both the French and the English websites explain in details how readers can replicate the fact-check by their own means, thanks to the database of resources and advice the journalists have created. We can find it here :
https://africacheck.org/how-to-fact-check/tips-and-advice/
https://fr.africacheck.org/verifier-des-faits/conseils-et-recommandations/
Here is the Africa Check’s sources policy abstract:
“Always use primary sources if possible
We endeavour to use primary sources for all our report whether in the form of a recording, a transcript, a database or other verifiable primary source if possible. Secondary sources are used periodically where necessary but are properly checked and attributed.
Databases and credible sources
The Info Finder section lists databases and studies that we found credible while researching our reports. When looking for credible studies and databases on new reports, the researcher searches here first. We also provide as much explanation as required about the quality of information and any relevant caveats to enable the reader to assess the likely accuracy of the information. We also try to provide some context to the source of data by explaining, where we can, how the data should be read and understood.
Expert analysis
Where we cannot ourselves access data, we seek insight and quote an expert in the field as commentator. Where we do quote an expert, we identify clearly who they are, who they work for, and any allegiances they may have that might affect their analysis. We also state whether we spoke to them directly and when. And if we did not, we say where we got the remarks from.
Use of anonymous sources
All the evidence we use is verifiable by us before we publish it. If a source agrees to send us information, but demands anonymity, we cannot use it as source material if it cannot be verified, either directly or indirectly, by our readers and us.
Provide a link, PDF or other evidence where possible
Another guiding principle of Africa Check is that our reports should be not just verified, by us, but verifiable by our readers and that means we have to provide the evidence we base our judgements on – links, PDFS and other such documents – not just the judgements themselves. If such documents are used, we add them to the report and add them to the Info Finder section.”
done_all 3a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 4: Transparency of Funding & Organization
Criterion 4a
Funding Sources
Evidence required: Please link to the section where you publicly list your sources of funding (including, if they exist, any rules around which types of funding you do or don't accept), or a statement on ownership if you are the branch of an established media organization or research institution.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Africa Check is a standalone fact-checking organization which is transparent about how it is funded.
The ownership of Africa Check and its rules about funding are all detailed here:
https://africacheck.org/about-us/how-we-are-funded
https://fr.africacheck.org/a-propos/comment-nous-sommes-finances
done_all 4a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 4b
Staff
Evidence required: Please link to the section detailing all authors and key actors behind your fact-checking project with their biographies. You can also list the name and bios of the members of the editorial board, pool of experts, advisory board, etc. if your organization has those.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
There’s a “people section” detailing authors behind the project and their biographies on Africa Check’s website, here:
https://africacheck.org/about-us/people
https://fr.africacheck.org/a-propos/notre-equipe
All the articles are signed by their author and all the authors are easy to find on Twitter.
done_all 4b marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 4c
Contact
Evidence required: Please link to the section where readers can get in touch with the organization.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
We provide an email address on the footer of the site, a contacts page on both sites https://africacheck.org/about-us/contact-details/
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
It’s easy for readers to contact Africa Check’s team: there’s a page that mentions all the addresses and phone numbers of the different Africa Check’s offices everywhere in Africa:
https://africacheck.org/about-us/contact-details/
http://fr.africacheck.org/a-propos/contact/
And there’s an generic email address on the footer of the website : info@africacheck.org
done_all 4c marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 5: Transparency of Methodology
Criterion 5a
Detailed Methodology
Evidence required: Please link to a section or article detailing the steps you follow for your fact-checking work.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
The Africa Check’s English-language site gives precisions about how its fact-checking methodology, with a lot of details in two sections:
https://africacheck.org/about-us/how-we-work/
https://africacheck.org/about-us/how-we-rate-claims/
The French-language site gives quite the same precisions here, in its new section :
https://fr.africacheck.org/a-propos/comment-nous-travaillons
These details seem very clear and accessible in both websites.
done_all 5a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 5b
Claim submissions
Evidence required: Please link to the page or process through which readers can submit claims to fact-check. If you do not allow this, please briefly explain why.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
There’s a dedicated page to invite readers to submit claims to fact-check on Africa Check’s websites. We can find it here:
https://africacheck.org/how-to-fact-check/submit-a-claim-to-check/
http://fr.africacheck.org/verifier-des-faits/soumettre-une-declaration-a-verifier/
And these pages are reachable from then menus and the websites’ homepages.
Both websites present to readers four rules to respect to submit a fact-checkable claim (sort of topic, fact or opinion, impact, already checked) and a specific form to send it to the staff.
The Africa Check staff also explains :
“Over the past year, Africa Check has made changes mainly in using new and different means to reach out to the public, seeking submissions for ideas of claims to check. This comes under the principles relating to transparency of methodology. We have done this with a campaign, in English, to reach out to users of WhatsApp. See an example here: https://twitter.com/AfricaCheck/status/946341709654392834
And in regular appeals to listeners to our regular weekly radio programme in Senegal. This provides an example : https://twitter.com/AfricaCheck_Fr/status/964112053282713600”
done_all 5b marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 6: Open & Honest Corrections Policy
Criterion 6a
Corrections policy
Evidence required: Please link to the page with your policy to address corrections. If it is not public, please share your organization's handbook.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
The Africa Check’s websites give precisions about its corrections policy in a specific webpage, here:
https://africacheck.org/about-us/corrections/
https://fr.africacheck.org/a-propos/politique-de-corrections
“In the case of a factual error, a note will be appended to the report and labelled “CORRECTION” with an explanation of what has been changed. In the case of clarifications or updates, a note will be appended and labelled “UPDATE” with an explanation of what has been changed.”
done_all 6a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 6b
Examples of corrections
Evidence required: Please provide two examples of a correction made, or correction requests handled, in the past year.
Africa Check
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
1. We published a short piece in which we corrected ourselves about the number of beneficiaries/recipients of social grants:
2. We corrected this factsheet stating our correction as shown below
https://africacheck.org/factsheets/factsheet-africas-leading-causes-death/
CORRECTION: A previous version of this factsheet stated that diarrhoeal diseases were the second leading cause of death for children younger than five in Africa. That is the case worldwide. In Africa, it is the fifth leading cause of death. We have corrected the piece and apologise for the error.
3. We corrected this piece
https://africacheck.org/reports/nigerian-girls-plight-claims-teen-marriage-pregnancy-fact-checked/
CORRECTION: A previous version of this report rated the verdict of the first claim as correct. It has since been pointed out that the available data does not cover the age group concerned. We have corrected the copy – changing the verdict to “mostly correct” – and apologise for the error.
4. On our French site we made this correction
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/senegal-sonatel-tigo-ont-surevalue-leurs-datacenters/
Laurent Bigot Assessor
18-Feb-2018 (6 years ago)
Africa Check tested its corrections policy in several fact-checks during 2017.
We can suggest the following examples for the English website:
https://africacheck.org/factsheets/factsheet-africas-leading-causes-death
CORRECTION: A previous version of this factsheet stated that diarrhoeal diseases were the second leading cause of death for children younger than five in Africa. That is the case worldwide. In Africa, it is the fifth leading cause of death. We have corrected the piece and apologise for the error.
https://africacheck.org/reports/nigerian-girls-plight-claims-teen-marriage-pregnancy-fact-checked
CORRECTION: A previous version of this report rated the verdict of the first claim as correct. It has since been pointed out that the available data does not cover the age group concerned. We have corrected the copy – changing the verdict to “mostly correct” – and apologise for the error.
And this one for the French-language website :
https://fr.africacheck.org/reports/senegal-sonatel-tigo-ont-surevalue-leurs-datacenters
Télécoms : le plus grand datacenter d’Afrique de l’Ouest est-il sénégalais? (Actualisé)
Suite à la publication de notre fact-check sur les datacenters, la SONATEL nous a envoyé quelques précisions. Merci de les lire au bas de cet article.