The "About Us" page on our website clearly states that FactSpace West Africa is a legally registered non-profit organisation set up for the purpose of fact-checking and news verification in August 2019. Copies of our registration documents with Ghana's Registrar General's department have been attached for verification.

https://ghanafact.com/about/

According to information provided on its website, Ghana Fact is a project set up by a legally registered organization called FactSpace. The organization is a non-profit social enterprise that seeks to close the palpable market gap for an independent, non-partisan fact-checking program in Ghana, West Africa. 

The certificates of incorporation are also attached to this application for reference.

Ghana has seen rapid growth in internet access which has also come with the proliferation of news content creators including blogging websites, satirical news, citizen journalists and “rented propagandists” of politicians. However, these actors largely tend to be the initiators of misinformation/disinformation in Ghana. In a 2019 GhanaFact survey of 400 Ghanaians aimed at understanding the ecosystem of distrust and misinformation in Ghana, 69% of respondents indicated that they had encountered misinformation in the last one year.

Ghana is held up as a shining example of a successful democracy in Africa. However, there is also growing disillusionment among the populace about the country’s pace of development and worryingly, our mode of governance. Political disappointments coupled with the control of the media narrative and framing by politicians are fueling citizens disenchantment. The weaponization of disinformation online has come to polarize the country further.

The twin trouble of growing disinformation online and the waning trust in the media in Ghana informed our decision to launch a fact-checking and news verification project in August 2019, with our first reports published the following month. Our mission is to help safeguard Ghana’s democracy by minimizing the spread of disinformation/misinformation on social networking and messaging platforms and promoting accuracy in public discourse.

The fact-checking project has a team of 12. This includes two non-executive directors and 10 writers/ researchers. 

FactSpace West Africa is principally focused on fact-checking and news verification on social and traditional media. We have helped train more than 300 tertiary students from the University of Ghana, Ghana Institute of Journalism and the Institute of Business Management and Journalism. We have also created a fact-checking network made up of more than 100 journalists drawn from more than 30 media organisations across Ghana to help curb the spread of misinformation online as well as offline. We aim to develop web applications and maximise technologies in helping our fact-checking work.

Our Vision is to be West Africa’s independent, non-partisan digital fact-checking organization. We aim to ensure ready access to credible information, increase public knowledge across West Africa, train the sub-regions youthful population and grow a budding community of fact-checkers.

The applicant provides comprehensive political and social context about its raison d'etre and the date it was established. The number of people working for the organization including a national network of volunteers are identified. According to the applicant, Ghana Fact achieves its mandates through the following activities:

- A media outlet for the publication of fact checks

- Capacity building initiatives such as training of more than 300 tertiary students

- Establishment of a fact-checking network made up of more than 100 journalists drawn from more than 30 media organisations across Ghana

- Technology research

Its vision is to be West Africa’s independent, non-partisan digital fact-checking organization.

All our fact-checks centre around four key public interest areas plus issues related to synthetic media. The sectors include governance, economy, politics and health. These areas do relate to or could have an impact on the welfare and well-being of individuals, the general public or society.

The public interest areas we focus on are informed by the feedback from the 2019 GhanaFact Survey of 400 Ghanaians seeking to understand the ecosystem of distrust and misinformation in Ghana.         

The applicant has published an average of at least one fact check a week over the course of the six months prior to the date of application. For this application, Ghana Fact provided 29 work samples which is more than sufficient to cover the six months criteria

According to Ghana Fact, "all our fact-checks centre around four key public interest areas plus issues related to synthetic media. The sectors include governance, economy, politics and health. These areas do relate to or could have an impact on the welfare and well-being of individuals, the general public or society.

"The public interest areas we focus on are informed by the feedback from the 2019 GhanaFact Survey of 400 Ghanaians seeking to understand the ecosystem of distrust and misinformation in Ghana."

Upon independent assessment, it is clear that more than 75% of fact checks published by Ghana Fact over the six months prior to the date of application focused on claims related to “public interest” issues.       

Our fact-checking project has NO funding relationship whatsoever with either a local/foreign state, politicians, political parties or political sources. 

Based on this application, information on Ghana Fact's website and our knowledge of this organization, we strongly believe that this project has no funding relationship whatsoever with either politicians, political parties or political sources. The organization also goes a step further to ensure that no funding resource stream exceeds 35% of its budget in order to maintain editorial independence from funders.

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The organization does not receive funding from local or foreign state or political sources.

The GhanaFact team selects claims to fact-check based on reach, how relevant the claim is to the public and the potential impact the claim might have on the public if it goes unchecked. The four broad public interest areas we focus on also guide us in the selection of these claims. We are only committed to the facts and listen to all relevant stakeholders in executing our fact-check reports while applying the same methodology to ensure fairness.

The process we use as clearly stated on the "How we work" page on the GhanaFact website as follows:

Acquisition: GhanaFact team first independently identifies or is alerted to information that needs to be fact-checked/verified by subscribers

Determination of source of news: GhanaFact team then examines the information/statement and trace the source of the information to establish a veracity

Sources of further information: GhanaFact team brainstorms and outlines possible sources to engage and seek for clarification or further information

Further research: GhanaFact team sanctions further research on the subject to ensure a comprehensive report

Report: A fact-checked report is produced/edited using ethical journalistic standards and adhering to the principles of IFCN

Publication: GhanaFact team would publish the conclusions of the Fact-checked report and rate the accuracy of the information /statement.

EXAMPLES OF FACT CHECKS THAT DEMONSTRATE OUR NON-PARTISANSHIP

1. We fact-checked a viral doctored video of the chairperson of Ghana’s electoral commission declaring the country’s hotly contested elections in favour of the opposition candidate.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/12/false-viral-video-shows-ec-declaring-john-mahama-as-president-elect-of-ghana/

2. We flagged as FAKE a viral screenshot of a Facebook post by BBC News Africa alleging that Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo had lost the 2020 presidential election.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/12/fake-viral-screenshot-of-bbc-facebook-post-on-ghanaian-election/

3. We fact-checked a claim made by Ghana's former President during an interview with the BBC ahead of Ghana’s 2020 polls.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/12/fact-check-mahamas-claim-on-ghanas-debt-to-gdp-ratio-in-a-bbc-interview/

4. We flagged a viral video of a leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), which showed he had been arrested with ballot boxes during the 2020 elections.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/12/misleading-wontumi-arrested-with-ballot-boxes/

5. We fact-checked a deputy minister for Education after he made some claims in a televised debate on Ghana’s education sector.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/12/fact-check-education-sector-debate-on-gross-enrolment-ratio-for-girls/

6. We fact-checked the National Communication Officer of the opposition NDC, Sammy Gyamfi after he made some claims during a live TV show.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/11/fact-checking-sammy-gyamfis-claims-on-moment-of-truth-tv-programme/

7. We fact-checked a speech read by Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/08/fact-check-akufo-addos-speech-at-npp-manifesto-launch/

8. We fact-checked a claim made by Ghana’s opposition leader, John Mahama.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/08/fact-check-john-mahama-on-the-campaign-trail/

9. We fact-checked a claim made by a leading member of the governing, New Patriotic Party.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/07/fact-check-gabby-otchere-darko-falsely-claims-2016-growth-rate-is-the-lowest-in-the-fourth-republic/

10. We fact-checked multiple claims made by Ghana’s Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

https://ghanafact.com/2020/07/fact-check-dr-bawumias-claims-about-why-akufo-addo-is-better-than-mahama/

Our political fact-checks concentrated on the two leading political parties in Ghana, opposition NDC and governing NPP. Due to the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections, there was the need for invest lots of resources in taking election misinformation to help prevent chaos following from the weaponization of misinformation. However, it should be noted that we also fact-checked information around governance due to greater reach and its impact on citizens.

10 fact checks were selected at random and compared to those submitted by the applicant. Our assessment shows that fact checks are not restricted to one political party or affiliation. For instance, in the same month (December 2020), the fact check team published 2 different claims about the governing party and opposition party. Both fact checks were treated to the same standards and their conclusions were supported by evidence.

Also, the fact that GhanaFact conducts fact checking in four broad public interest areas - politics, health, economy and environment - enriches its portfolio and adds diversity to the fact check catalog.                                                                                                            

https://ghanafact.com/how-we-work/

A statement on GhanaFact's website reads thus:

"We select claims to fact-check based on reach, how relevant the claim is to the public and the potential impact the claim might have on the public if it goes unchecked."

Our assessment shows that GhanaFact has a strict process for the selection of claims. The diversity of fact checks signify a non-concentration of fact-checking on one side. And most fact checks include a statement or visual proof (screenshot) of the number of shares and comments attributed to a claim.

Most of the fact-checks published on GhanaFact were obtained from social media by ordinary citizens whose online statements reached a wide audience, or from media outlets that published questionable claims. GhanaFact makes sure to include the source of the claims in its publication and does not demonstrate undue influence. 

Upon review of the applicant's website and social media, we conclude that the applicant does not seem to be affiliated with nor declare or show support for any party, any politician or political candidate, nor does it advocate for or against any policy positions on any issues save for transparency and accuracy in public debate.

GhanaFact explains its policies to preserve its non-partisan way of fact-checking claims on the “Our principles” page:

https://ghanafact.com/principles/

FactSpace West Africa, ensured all the GhanaFact team of volunteers had no current or past direct involvement in political or advocacy organisations. Future employees will also not be hired if they have in the past or at present hold an active role in any political party.

Non-partisanship is crucial in our work, which means this is frequently discussed at meetings and team members are always reminded to be wary of their personal communication on social media in view of our standards. We do not support any political party.

The "principles" page has been duly updated to reflect the recommendation- https://ghanafact.com/principles/.

Here is what has been added to the page:

Members of the GhanaFact team have no current or past direct involvement in political or advocacy organizations. FactSpace West Africa will also ensure that future employees will not be hired if they have – in the past or at present – had an active role in any political party.

Non-partisanship is crucial in our work and it is frequently discussed at meetings. Team members are regularly reminded to be wary of their personal communication on social media. We do not support any political party.

Obtained from its website, GhanaFact writes that:

"Members of the GhanaFact team have no current or past direct involvement in political or advocacy organizations. FactSpace West Africa will also ensure that future employees will not be hired if they have – in the past or at present – had an active role in any political party."

In this application, GhanaFact states that "Non-partisanship is crucial in our work, which means this is frequently discussed at meetings and team members are always reminded to be wary of their personal communication on social media in view of our standards."

There is also no evidence of its key staff being involved in advocacy or stating policy positions on issues the organization might fact check, in such a way as might lead a reasonable member of the public to see the organization’s work as biased.

GhanaFact identifies the source of claims and evidence in their fact checks and provides a hyperlink for further research by users. In cases where a hyperlink does not seem possible, GhanaFact provides visual evidence of the sources.

Based on the fact checks reviewed, there is no indication of non-disclosure of sources. 

Most of the fact checks published by GhanaFact are based on primary sources of information. Explanations are given on the reason behind the use of such information, both primary and secondary, as well as the source's limitations. In most cases, the source of information is also defined, for example, this factcheck where the World Economic Forum is defined and a link is provided for further research.

GhanaFact makes use of multiple sources in most of its fact checks and checks all key elements of claims against more than one named source of evidence save where the one source is the only source relevant on the topic.

GhanaFact regularly relies on primary and secondary sources of information and does not make unfair conclusions or inaccurate deductions from evidence. The organization also identifies the interests of sources if they would be required to understand the source’s credibility.

FactSpace West Africa is an independent non-partisan organisation executing the GhanaFact fact-checking project. This is stated on the "About Us" page on our website.

https://ghanafact.com/about/

On its "About Us" page, Ghana Fact clearly states that it is Ghana’s independent digital fact-checking project set up by FactSpace West Africa, a legally registered non-profit organisation, to curb the spread of disinformation on both traditional and social media.

These two pages detail our funding as an independent non-profit organisation:

https://ghanafact.com/funding/

https://ghanafact.com/about/

"We launched in 2019 as a team of volunteers with no funders. The organisation has since evolved after funding support from the Shuttleworth Foundation. Our objective in the medium to long term is to ensure no funding resource stream exceeds 35% of the budget. This is to guarantee funders have absolutely no control over our editorial policy.

Our fact-checking project has NO funding relationship whatsoever with either politicians, political parties or political sources."

GhanaFact also includes the logos of other organizations (asides Shuttleworth Foundation) which we believe are other funders. While this might be sufficient for this application, it is advisable that GhanaFact update its information to include these other funders and if possible, the amount donated.

https://ghanafact.com/team/

On the "How we work" page- https://ghanafact.com/how-we-work/, we detail the editorial control for our work. 

GhanaFact seeks to promote accuracy in engagements on social media and in public discourse by correcting the spread of false or misleading claims or statements.

The Managing editor has control over the day-to-day editorial decisions of GhanaFact. No other body or sources has any influence over our editorial policy & independence.

We select claims to fact-check based on reach, how relevant the claim is to the public and the potential impact the claim might have on the public if it goes unchecked. GhanaFact is only committed to the facts and listen to all relevant stakeholders in executing our fact-check reports.

GhanaFact is headed by a Managing Editor who has control over the day-to-day editorial decisions of GhanaFact. No other body or source has any influence over our editorial policy & independence.

The organization also has a two-member (all female) board of non-executive directors and a team of writers and researchers.

https://ghanafact.com/team/

On its "Team" page, GhanaFact provides information about the people who play a significant part in their editorial output, including their social media handles. This could encourage communication with the team (although it will be best if those handles are hyperlinked to make it easier for users to contact them). 

GhanaFact has a "Contact Us" page where we encourage users to communicate with the editorial team.

https://ghanafact.com/contact-us/

Users are encouraged to contact GhanaFact team via phone call, email, mail or social media. 

https://ghanafact.com/contact-us/ 

https://ghanafact.com/principles/

According to information on its website, GhanaFact utilises a methodology that is predicated on the IFCN Code of Principles. 

"We select claims to fact-check based on reach, how relevant the claim is to the public and the potential impact the claim might have on the public if it goes unchecked. GhanaFact is only committed to the facts and listen to all relevant stakeholders in executing our fact-check reports."

GhanaFact operates a Waterfall approach that starts with the independent identification or public alert to information that needs to be verified by subscribers and culminates in the publication of fact-checked reoprts that rate the accuracy of the information/statement.

https://ghanafact.com/how-we-work/

In theory and practice, GhanaFact selects claims to check based primarily on the reach and importance of the claims, and where possible explains the reason for choosing the claim to check.

GhanaFact publishes well-detailed fact checks that show thorough research and compliance to the principles of transparency, nonpartisanship and fairness. The fact-checks begin with a summary conclusion at the beginning (which might have been based on various research on human attention span and reception of information) and continue with a full description of the claim, the evidence, and then a conclusion.

In most cases, the evidence (as you would expect) is in support of the conclusion. Nevertheless, GhanaFact does try to provide contrary evidence to show errors in judgment and lend credence to its earlier assertions.

From all indications, GhanaFact assesses the merits of the evidence found using the same high standards applied to evidence on equivalent claims, regardless of who made the claim.

Depending on the circumstances, GhanaFact makes sure to provide the source of the claim for a statement or explanation and includes that in its fact check. For most online claims, GhanaFact publishes relevant information about the person who made the claim, including a screenshot or link to a video recording of the claim. However, there is no information on the website to show that the person who made the claim was contacted.

https://ghanafact.com/submit-a-claim-to-check/

We provide the following information to the public on our website to guide the submission of claims:

Claims that are researched by GhanaFact are done only with publicly available sources.

We concentrate our fact-checks on public interest areas including politics, governance, economy, elections and health.

When we see an inaccurate, misleading or unsubstantiated claim, we push for corrections and withdrawals.

For our team to research a claim, the claim must be:

A statement made in public, which can be attributed to a specific person (e.g. a public official or a social media user) or organization (e.g. a report)

An assertion or allegation that can be validated or refuted

Based on past or present actions (i.e. not speculative about the future or an opinion)

A widely shared claim that might have an impact on the public if it goes unchecked

You can send a claim via the “Contact Us” page on our website or reach us on social media-Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But note that our focus is to fact-check claims and not individuals.

GhanaFact's process shows that claims are selected based on internal team recommendations or user requests. 

You can send a claim via the “Contact Us” page on our website or reach us on social media-Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But note that our focus is to fact-check claims and not individuals."

GhanaFact has a dedicated page for its corrections policy. It reads:

"We are committed to getting it right than first. However, if you see a mistake or omission in any of our reports, please let us know. Our team will be ready to correct them as quickly and transparently as we can. You can send corrections or complaints to info@ghanafact.com. You can also send feedback via the Contact Us section on our website. All correspondence will be reviewed and appropriately answered within the shortest possible time. To ensure we fully grasp what your concerns are, comments and complaints should be as clear as possible. Where possible, please include any links to reference material or data that is publicly accessible. We cannot promise to check every claim suggested but we do promise to read all suggestions."

We have not received any correction requests in the last year. 

According to GhanaFact, they have not received any correction requests in the past year.

https://ghanafact.com/about/

"GhanaFact is a project by FactSpace West Africa, a legally registered non-profit organisation set up for fact-checking and news verification in August 2019. We subscribe to the International Fact-Checking Network’s code of principles and if you believe that we are in breach of these principles you can lodge a complaint."

https://ghanafact.com/about/

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The corrections policy of GhanaFact (already stated above) suffices.