Editors to set up fact-check desks in newsrooms to tackle fake news

Nigerian editors have agreed to set up fact-check desk in their various newsrooms as a measure to tackle fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.

Rising from a one-day workshop organised by the European Union (EU) in collaboration with the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Lagos on Friday, July 25, 2025, the editors said having Fact-Check Desk would help media organisations verify news hints, with the view to publishing only accurate information.

Other key decisions taken at the end of the workshop include that media organisations should organise trainings for their newsroom managers and line editors on fact-checking.

They added: “That the Guild should set up disinformation counter groups across its zonal structures, ahead of 2027 general election.

“Media organisations should collaborate and reach out to each other to verify information.

“Media organisations should look at the quality of their Online Editors to ensure that experienced and well grounded journalist man the position.

“The Guild should use other of its bigger platforms to address issues bordering on fake news, misinformation and disinformation.”

EU, editors partner to fight fake news, disinformation

Speaking earlier at the workshop, the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, and the NGE President, Eze Anaba, said newsroom managers should acquire the skills and tools for fact-checking as a way to tackle fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.

Mignot said the EU was taking a multi-pronged approach to address the threats posed by misleading information, which he described as a “danger to democracy and public trust.”

He stated: “Our choice of collaborating with the Nigerian Guild of Editors on this programme is part and parcel of this general effort.

“We recognise the critical role of editors as the last line in the gatekeeping process. The editor is ultimately responsible for what is pushed into the public space as content.”

In his remarks Anaba described the workshop as timely and critical, while highlighting the dangers of fake news and misformation.

“The deliberate spread of false information, whether through disinformation, misinformation, or fabricated news, not only undermines public trust, but also threatens social cohesion, democratic governance, and national security,” he said.

The NGE President expressed hope that the gathering would serve as a platform for building collective capacity to identify and combat false narratives.

The Star