Journalists have been called upon to step up efforts to tackle misinformation and disinformation in the age of citizen journalism, as artificial intelligence and digital algorithms continue to transform how news is produced and distributed.
This call was made at the symposium themed ‘Citizen Journalism in the Age of the Algorithm’ organised by Open African Tribune on the 5th of March 2026 at the Lekki area of Lagos. The symposium had in attendance media experts across board, fact-checkers, journalists.
Speaking at the symposium, the Editor-in-Chief of the Open African Tribune, Naakuu Paul-Birabi, said the symposium was organised to help journalists and other stakeholders understand the need to bridge the gap between information and knowledge, adding that journalists must play a central role in tackling anti-intellectualism through accurate reporting, verification of facts, and combating misinformation and disinformation.
He said, “What we are trying to do is create a forum for journalists and the public at large to understand the mechanics of how we consume news and the narratives that are being formed around us.”
The digital age has changed how information is created and consumed. Unlike old times, news no longer comes from traditional media houses that operated within defined editorial structures and professional standards. Now that the model has shifted, especially with the rise of smartphones, social media platforms, and instant publishing tools, ordinary people can document events, share updates, and eventually shape conversations and influence public opinions in real time.
This shift has made information more accessible than before. Stories that might have gone unnoticed can now gain visibility within minutes, and voices that were once excluded from mainstream media spaces are now able to participate in shaping narratives.
Citizen reporting has become especially significant during crises, protests, and breaking news situations, where on-the-ground accounts can provide immediate insights before the presence of a trained or professional journalist. With this speed, however, come challenges. Information now travels at the speed of light, reaching thousands of people across the continent and even the world, at the same time. This speed often leaves little room for information verification, increasing the risk of unverified news and misinformation.
According to research by the African Centre for Strategic Studies, at least 39 African countries have been the target of a specific disinformation campaign. Half of the countries subjected to disinformation (20 of the 39) have been targeted three or more times, up from just seven countries meeting that threshold in 2022.
Without the checks and balances that guide traditional journalism, the accuracy of what is shared, the credibility of sources, and who should be held accountable when false information spreads now raises great concerns.
How Algorithms Shape What We See and Trust
At the core, algorithms are sets of rules used by platforms to sort and recommend content for users. Platforms like Meta (Facebook, Instagram) or Google (Search, YouTube) track signals such as what you click on, how long you watch or read, what you like, share, or make comments on.
Using this data, they can predict what will keep you engaged and prioritize similar content, leading to a personalized feed—just for you. Similar pages and profiles are recommended to users, and over time, this creates echo chambers where users are repeatedly exposed to similar viewpoints. As a result, familiarity can be mistaken for truth.
Material that sparks strong reactions—whether accurate or not—is often amplified to drive engagement and traffic. In this environment, misleading information spreads quickly because it is designed to capture attention rather than reflect the truth.
As a result, trust shifts away from verified sources toward what appears most visible or popular. By continuously promoting content similar to what users engage with, algorithms can create a narrow information space where certain viewpoints dominate, while alternative perspectives receive little exposure.
Imagine you watch a short video criticizing the fuel price increase on TikTok. You like it, maybe even share it. The algorithm documents that as an interest. Within a few hours, your feed starts filling up with similar clips—more criticism, more personal stories, more emotional reactions.
Soon, it feels like everyone is talking about the same issue in the same way. You rarely see content explaining government policy, economic context, or even opposing views. Not because they don’t exist, but because the algorithm has learned what keeps you engaged and keeps showing you more of it.
Over time, this repeated exposure can shape your perspective. It can make one angle feel like the only valid one, simply because it’s the most visible in your feed. One tends to believe “since it’s popular, then it’s true.”
The Risks of Misinformation in Citizen Journalism
The speed and accessibility of citizen journalism have transformed real-time reporting, but they have also created pathways for unverified claims, recycled images, and opinion-driven narratives to spread widely before any form of verification, often fueling confusion and risk during critical moments.
A good example is during a flood or building collapse. Someone nearby records a video and posts it online with a caption like, “This just happened in Lagos.” The clip spreads quickly, picked up by blogs and reshared across platforms. People begin to panic, calling loved ones and avoiding certain areas. Hours later, it turns out the video is from a different state—or even from a previous year. But by then, the damage is done: fear has spread, and false information has shaped public reaction.
While citizen journalism is valuable, it requires responsibility. The lack of formal training leads to challenges in verification and adherence to professional journalistic standards and ethics.
Elections in African countries are also prime opportunities for misinformation to thrive. Some employ mercenaries, while domestic actors have also increasingly integrated disinformation into their political playbooks, notably during Kenya’s 2022 elections.
Maintaining Credibility in a Digital-First Environment: Key takeaways for journalists
Credibility remains the foundation of the work that journalists do. In a fast-paced digital space, it requires deliberate effort, and even though everyone now has access to the internet and can post “news” with little or no skills required, the role of journalists in ensuring that disseminated news is accurate is what differentiates them from ordinary people. In the struggle to keep up with trends and who first broke the news, the truth may be lost. Journalism should not always be “as e dey hot.”
Verifying sources, cross-checking claims, and providing context are essential steps.
Journalists were also encouraged to adapt to new formats without compromising ethical and professional standards. Whether reporting through articles, videos, or social media posts, the principles remain the same: fairness, balance, and evidence-based reporting.
Also speaking at the event, the Founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Fisayo Soyombo, emphasised that the value of journalism should not be measured by fame, virality, or popularity but by the ability to provide truthful information to the public.
“Journalists have to understand the value of the work that they do, and the value of that work is not in fame, virality, or popularity. Fame can come along with the work, but it is not the value of the work. It is in feeding people with the information that they do not know, and they have to know.”
He added that newsrooms need to be firmer with the standards of people they let into the door by testing them not only on their writing abilities, but also on their understanding of journalism, and the ethics of the profession. He also encouraged journalists to familiarise themselves with digital tools that could enhance their work in the evolving media landscape.
In her remarks, the Director of Programmes at News Central, Tolulope Adelera-Balogun, stressed the need for journalists to curb misinformation by verifying information from multiple sources before publication.
To mitigate the risks of misinformation, she further argued that media stakeholders should consider licensing journalists as a way of distinguishing trained professionals from citizen reporters without formal journalism training.
The Role of Social Media in Journalism
Social media has become a key tool for news distribution and audience engagement. It allows journalists and content creators to reach wider audiences, gather real-time information, and interact with the public.
However, experts say that social media should exist to support journalism and not replace it. Professional journalism involves editorial processes, verification, and accountability; social media platforms do not always provide these safeguarding techniques.
When used responsibly, social media platforms can amplify credible reporting. Their misuse can blur the line between facts and speculations.
Tolulope Adelera-Balogun noted that social media should serve as a tool for gathering information rather than replacing professional journalism, saying, “Social media is a useful tool for gathering leads, but it cannot replace professional journalism.”
Offering his perspective, Disinformation researcher Kunle Adebajo explains that public complaints about declining journalistic standards or perceived media silence often stem from a disconnect between newsroom priorities and the spaces online audiences actively engage with. According to him, many important stories receive limited attention, not because they are ignored, but because they struggle to compete with more engaging content circulating on digital platforms.
“When social media users complain that the quality of journalism is reducing or that the mainstream media is turning a blind eye to certain issues, often it’s because there’s a disconnect between the stories being published regularly and the places of the internet that netizens are paying attention to. The stories are not getting as many views as other types of content published on the platforms.
So what social media users can do is to also support credible media platforms through engagement. Follow your favourite information sources and share their work, so they can reach as many people as possible. Otherwise, we will continue to have a situation where people get vital information from lower-quality sources or no sources at all. Of course, journalists can do a better job of presenting and amplifying their work, but there’s only so much they can do in a fast-paced, under-resourced environment.”
Strengthening Media Literacy Among Audiences
In a popularly social media-influenced environment, audiences need the skills to evaluate what they consume now more than ever. While algorithms suggest content that mostly suits biases and sentiments, there is a need for media and information literacy among the people to promote critical thinking, ethical content creation and distribution, capacity to identify, verify, and combat fake news and misinformation.
Media literacy is a collective effort that is essential for navigating the modern information landscape, distinguishing facts from fiction.
Training and capacity building can equip people with the ability to identify credible sources, question the intention of information, recognise misleading headlines and multimedia content, and understand how algorithms influence content. It teaches individuals to analyze the underlying motives behind every piece of information rather than taking it at face value. It could also provide the tools necessary for basic fact-checking skills that can be accessed by anyone with a smartphone. An example is Google reverse image search.
When audiences become more critical, the spread of misinformation will dwindle, with more people interested in the why and how of a piece of information.
Addressing participants at the symposium, Nigeria Info OAP and Moderator of the Panel, Maryann Duke Okon, stressed the importance of media literacy among audiences, noting that citizens must learn to critically evaluate the information they encounter online.
Adebajo added, “People can only develop a healthy scepticism in their consumption of information if they are aware of the many ways they can be fooled, the many ways people have been misled in the past, and how technology has made this even easier. Media literacy programmes will do this. It will provide this awareness. It will teach them that almost anyone can be vulnerable to mis- and disinformation. It will make them understand the ulterior motives behind the spread of disinformation and the psychological reasons why they are susceptible. It will make them better able to identify the red flags and distinguish between credible and non-credible sources. It will also equip them with the tools to verify suspicious information.”
Digital Investigations Journalist, Samad Uthman, in a conversation with Open African Tribune, said that media literacy should be introduced to the public and held at the various levels that correspond with the demographics.
“Introducing media literacy to the public isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. It works best when it’s layered across different demographics, meeting people where they are in age, access, language, and daily realities. The goal is not just awareness, but habit-building: helping people consistently question, verify, and reflect on the information they consume.
From the foundational level in schools to youths who are mostly internet users and spend more time there. We must also be intentional about grassroots education. Access and language are major barriers here, so media literacy must be localized and oral.”
Conclusion
The rise of citizen journalism and digital platforms has reshaped the information landscape. It has opened up the public space, giving ordinary people the power to document events, tell their stories, and hold authority to account. But that same openness also makes it easier for false or misleading information to spread, sometimes faster than the truth can catch up.
The task, then, is not to reject citizen journalism but to strengthen it with responsibility, verification, and media literacy. When people learn to question what they see, check before they share, and value accuracy over speed, the digital space becomes more than a stream of content—it becomes a place where information can be trusted and used for the public good.
