As part of efforts aimed at promoting peaceful and credible electoral process, Fundación para la Internacionalización de las Administraciones Públicas (FIAP) in partnership with FactCheckAfrica recently trained journalists, fact-checkers, and civil society actors on strengthening media practice and civic engagement.

Themed, “Truth at the ballot: Strengthening media and civil society for democratic and peaceful elections in Nigeria,” the three-day regional capacity-building workshop was held in Abuja.

Over the course of the workshop, participants engaged in practical sessions on verification and fact-checking, open-source intelligence (OSINT), digital investigations, hate speech analysis, safe journalism during elections, gender-sensitive reporting, youth-inclusive civic communication, and ethical applications of generative AI within media ecosystems.

The workshop also provided a platform for cross-regional collaboration and peer learning among frontline actors working to safeguard democratic processes and strengthen public trust in information during electoral periods.

Founder of FactCheckAfrica, Abideen Olasupo, said the capacity building initiative reflects the growing need to strengthen democratic resilience through ethical journalism, evidence-based communication, and collaborative responses to information disorder.

To him, strengthening information integrity and supporting ethical, evidence-based journalism remain essential to protecting democratic participation and reducing risks associated with misinformation and electoral violence.

He added, “as Nigeria approaches another critical electoral cycle, it is increasingly important to equip journalists, fact-checkers, and civic actors with the tools and knowledge necessary to counter misinformation, strengthen public trust, and promote peaceful democratic participation. This workshop is part of a broader effort to support information integrity and democratic accountability across the region.”

The Abuja regional workshop forms part of a broader intervention that includes a second regional training in Lagos and a post-workshop mentoring programme designed to support participating organisations in applying lessons learned within their respective institutions and communities.

The event was held under Activity 3.1.5a(2)i of the EU Support to ECOWAS in Peace, Security and Governance (EPSG) Project.

The workshop brought together 35 participants drawn from the nation’s North-Central, North-East, and North-West geopolitical zones, including journalists, fact-checkers, civic actors, researchers, and media development practitioners working at the intersection of information integrity, democratic accountability, and electoral peace building.

FIAP is the Spanish Cooperation entity specialised in promoting participation of public administrations in Spanish and European cooperation programmes and projects.

It supports development of public systems in more than 120 countries by mobilising public sector expertise to foster the exchange of knowledge and experience between counterpart institutions from different countries. As a public foundation, FIAP’s work forms part of Spain’s and Europe’s external action.

The organisation is also currently co-implementing Component 3 of the EPSG Project in West Africa with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), focusing on strengthening electoral processes through the prevention of electoral violence and the countering of misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech.

The overall objective of the EPSG Project is to enhance peace, security, and governance within the ECOWAS region. The project is a multi-donor initiative co-financed by the European Union (EU), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (MOFA).