Accra – Fast-spreading misinformation online is hard to measure, but the 10 organizations and 10 African fact-checking groups that make up the Africa Infodemic Response Alliance are working to track and debunk dangerous myths on the pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines.
Data collected regularly since March 2021 in 20 African countries show that false claims around COVID-19 vaccines are by far the most widespread myths around the pandemic and that a fear of side-effects is the main driver for people’s reluctance to get vaccinated.
African fact-checking organizations say they have debunked over 1300 misleading reports throughout the pandemic. Rabiu AlHassan, the Managing Editor at Ghana Fact, Ghana’s first independent fact-checking platform and a member of the Africa Infodemic Response Alliance, is on the frontlines in the fight to debunk myths and spread facts that save lives.