At a consultation forum on the challenges of fake news during election periods, held in Abidjan on November 28, CFI officially launched its Vérifox program.
A subsidiary of France Médias Monde, Canal France International (CFI) works to promote the development of media in the Global South. Following a call for applications launched on September 9, CFI selected 15 African media outlets to participate in this project with the aim of training them to play a role in guaranteeing the right to access reliable, independent, and verified information during the pre-election period.
For Côte d'Ivoire, the eligible media outlets are L'Inter, AIP, 7info, Radio Yopougon, and RTI Info.
Beyond Côte d'Ivoire, the project targets information providers operating in Burkina Faso and Benin, two countries that will soon be holding presidential elections. All of the selected media outlets will receive support focused on three activities:
- Improving consultation between information sector actors
- Training journalists to cover presidential elections and combat fake news
- Remote support for journalists in the fight against fake news