Raymond Joseph from Egypt
Raymond Joseph
Experience
"As a journalist with 45 years experience, with two decades as an editor, news editor, bureau chief and foreign correspondent and as a former ICFJ Knight Journalism Fellow, the one thing I have always insisted on and practiced is that facts are sacrosanct. It is something I have always been pedantic about, both in my career as a print journalist now, having made the transition to multi-media and data-driven storytelling journalism. It is more relevant than ever in the Internet age (I come from hot metal) where free tools and huge reach has made it for people to play loose and free with the facts – and things are often not what they appear to be. Until very recently I headed up Code for South Africa’s Media Programme and Data Journalism Academy, and even though the focus was on data, fact checking was part of the DNA of everything we did and the stories we told. I am also an experienced journalism trainer and always include an element of fact-checking in any course I do. Over the last few years I have specialised in training journalists in online and social media content verification, and also the use of Twitter and other social media as journalism tools. I have done verification training in many local news rooms and at journalism conferences like the African Investigative Journalism Conference and the Frontline Southern African Investigative Journalism Conference for which I compiled this list of tools and resources. I also use Facebook and Twitter to educate people about on how to identify ""fake news"" and I regularly share tips and tools both among “civilians” and journalists, including on journalism forums. In South Africa, where I live, and in Africa, where I often work, the issue of “fake news” is very real and constant. This includes both the abuse of social media and fake content, as well as using photos and video out of context, for political ends. In my country there has been a proliferation of fake websites and Twitter accounts, with armies of bots marshaled behind them, pushing the dubious agendas of some of the political parties and politicians. To get an idea of some of what I do you may want to check out my social media activity. I tweet as @rayjoe and this is my personal Facebook page and this is my professional page. I firmly believe that a key part of the solution to combat “fake news” and misinformation on social media is to also educate non-journalists and I am about to begin offering affordable basic training in verification and tools for “civilians”. I feel strongly that the more ordinary users know, the more useful a space social media and online becomes for both working journalists and ordinary users. I have done several fact-check blogs for AfricaCheck, Africa’s leading fact-checking organisation like this and this fact check guide and these and this one. I have enjoyed a professional relationship and friendship with AfricaCheck founder Peter Cunliffe-Jones several years ago."
Conflict of Interest Statement
As stated above, I have done some fact-check blogs for AfricaCheck on a freelance basis
Languages covered
Afrikaans, English
Countries covered
Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe