IPC Engages Delta Online Publishers on Professional Election Reporting
As preparations for the 2027 general election gather momentum, the role of journalists and media practitioners in promoting quality democracy and good governance remains a key focus. In line with...
As preparations for the 2027 general election gather momentum, the role of journalists and media practitioners in promoting quality democracy and good governance remains a key focus. In line with this, the International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, held a media interface on Friday for members of the Delta Online Publishers Forum (DOPF) in Warri, Delta State, as part of efforts to strengthen professional reporting on elections and democratic governance.
Organised under Component 4: Support to Media of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Phase II (EUSDGN 2) programme, with IPC as the lead implementing partner, the event targeted online media leaders and platform owners. It aimed to promote human-interest reporting and encourage agenda-setting that holds politicians accountable for their campaign promises.
Speaking at the roundtable event, Mr Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of IPC, said the interface was a result of the evaluation done by the evaluators from the European Union, who discovered that despite the trainings with journalists in the past years on how to be inclusive of women, youths and persons with disabilities in professional coverage of electoral issues, fact-checking, combating fake news, and addressing information disorder in the digital media space, there has not been much impact on their reporting.
He further stated that the interaction with the journalists revealed that their limitation was due to the executives of the media houses, such as publishers, editors and newsroom owners, who are the gatekeepers and decision-makers of the kind of news that gets to the public, and as a result, it is a limitation to their output and the impacts of their journalistic duties on a democratic environment.
According to him, to address this, IPC has been meeting with newsroom executives and owners. The Warri interface was part of IPC’s nationwide engagement with media stakeholders, following similar sessions for leaders of online and print media organisations in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Ibadan, and Ilorin.
Mr Arogundade explained that IPC has redirected its focus to the media owners and publishers, particularly the online platforms, which are closer to social media, as the information space is growing fast. According to him, the online publishers and executives are expected to play active roles in the development of Nigerian democracy by focusing on stories that will protect the interests of the marginalised individuals.
The participants were further taken through how to liaise with the concerned stakeholders in the electioneering process, like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the security agencies and relevant civil society organisations to publish reports that will deepen voters’ education to address the voter apathy and projection of gender balances, especially as women’s participation in the Nigerian leadership is still taking a backseat, noting that the publishers also have the responsibility to give visibility to youth and other marginalised groups.
He also emphasised the provisions of the Media Code of Election Coverage and the need for fact-checking, combating fake news, and addressing information disorder in the digital media space, examining the realities of newsroom practice, identifying challenges affecting the media operating environment, and exploring measures for improving impactful reporting on development, democratic governance, and elections.
Speaking further, Mr Arogundade challenged the participants to begin a series of reports that will hold the government and politicians accountable, noting that as the elections are approaching, they must start following up on the claims and electoral promises by upholding the highest standards of professionalism, accuracy, fairness, and responsibility in reporting elections and governance issues. He also stressed the importance of ensuring that media reports promote inclusivity and contribute to peaceful and credible democratic processes.
Charging them to start setting an agenda for the politicians before the election, Mr Arogundade said they were urged to work on a “theory of change, which will turn the Delta Online Publishers Forum into an accountability forum which will not be influenced by external factors by countering disinformation and misinformation through their commitment, attitude and aptitude to fact-checking. By aptitude, I mean your commitment to wanting to learn and use all the available resources and tools for fact-checking without looking at the rigour attached to the process,” he said.
He further urged them to start familiarising themselves with the digital tools available to make their work easier and more effective. He also stated that their familiarity with the tools would also reduce their physical presence in some places, and that could expose them to danger, as IPC also works around the safety and security of journalists.
Participants were also trained in fact-checking and strategies for combating disinformation and misinformation during elections, as well as their implications for Nigeria’s democracy. The session was facilitated by Olusola Oludiran, a reporter with Nigerian Democratic Report, the online media platform of the International Press Centre. He noted that false election-related information can lead to voter suppression, erode trust in the system, and delegitimise results, thereby undermining the country’s democratic process.
He further added that elections generate high volumes of political information, much of which circulates rapidly through social media, messaging platforms, and online news outlets. Alongside legitimate information, false and misleading content often emerges to influence public opinion, discredit institutions, and manipulate electoral outcomes.
Proffering fact-checking as the essential safeguard for electoral integrity against misinformation and disinformation, Oludiran said, “Fact-checking is simply defined as the modern, identifiable category of journalism with the focus of providing accurate, unbiased analysis of statements and claims made in public to correct public misperceptions and increase knowledge of important issues.”
He also noted that while FactCheck is a subset of journalism, the process of fact verification is more rigorous than regular newswriting or features writing because it is more investigative in nature; as a result, journalists must be inclined to engage in the process to sanitise the tainted information space.
He also encouraged the participants to start using the available tools to debunk fake news, particularly the deepfakes and misleading social media content, which can pose a challenge to the information space ahead of the election.
Reacting to the engagement, Mr Emmanuel Enebeli, the chairman of the Delta Online Publishers (DOPF), appreciated IPC for its intervention and promised that the members of the platforms are ready to start working in line with democratic development. He also noted that the forum is already working on the agenda that it will set before the politicians ahead of the elections.
Mr Onitsha Shedrack, the deputy chairman of the forum, also enjoined the members to start influencing their media platforms by writing the reports that will effect change and uplift democracy in the country. He also called on the other participants to do so equally.
Celestine Ukah, a media executive from Area News Nigeria, noted that she has acquired more knowledge on how to fact-check and verify information before sharing. She noted that the interface has also exposed her to the new story ideas she will be working with, especially as far as gender issues are concerned.
Generally, participants expressed appreciation to the organisers, noting that the discussions had enhanced their understanding of ethical election reporting, fact-checking, and the media’s role in safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy.
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