Lagos, Nigeria — The Fundación para la Internacionalización de las Administraciones Públicas (FIAP), through its implementing partner FactCheckAfrica, in collaboration with Wikimedia Nigeria, has concluded a three-day interactive media seminar in Lagos aimed at strengthening the capacity of Wikimedia editors, newsroom editors and fact-checkers to counter disinformation and improve the quality of election-related information ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
The Interactive Media Seminar for Electoral Integrity: Strengthening Wikimedia Editors’ Capacity to Counter Disinformation in Nigeria, held from 15–17 September 2026 at Ibis Hotel, Ikeja, brought together 35 participants comprising Wikimedia editors, newsroom editors and fact-checkers. The seminar combined training on information integrity, fact-checking, source verification, digital investigation and open-source information verification with a practical Wikipedia edit-a-thon that enabled participants to apply these skills to election-related and public-interest content.
The edit-a-thon generated immediate outputs across Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, with seven new articles created, 52 articles edited, and 296 total edits recorded during the programme. Participants added approximately 17,400 words and 170 references to Wikipedia articles, alongside nine uploads to Wikimedia Commons, three of which were used in articles.
As Nigeria approaches the 2027 electoral cycle, the information environment surrounding elections is becoming increasingly complex, with citizens encountering political claims, manipulated media, misleading narratives and unverified information across social media, news platforms, messaging applications and online knowledge platforms. FIAP has highlighted the growing impact of digital technologies, social media and artificial intelligence on electoral integrity, public trust and democratic participation in West Africa.
Against this backdrop, the Lagos seminar focused on strengthening the people and platforms that play important roles in producing, verifying, preserving and distributing public information. The programme brought together Wikimedia editors who contribute to open knowledge, newsroom editors responsible for editorial decision-making, and fact-checkers who investigate and verify claims circulating in the public sphere.
Over the three days, participants explored the fundamentals of information disorder and its implications for democratic participation and peaceful elections. They examined practical approaches to assessing sources, verifying claims, conducting digital investigations, and identifying reliable evidence that can support accurate public-interest content. The Wikimedia-focused sessions introduced participants to the principles and practical requirements for developing reliable and neutrally written Wikipedia content. Participants examined sourcing, citation, neutrality, and the importance of independently assessing evidence before incorporating information into Wikipedia articles.
A key component of the programme was the connection between fact-checking and open knowledge. Participants were introduced to the FactCheckAfrica corpus and explored how verified fact-checks can help identify recurring narratives, information gaps and areas of public knowledge requiring further documentation. The training emphasised that a fact-check should not automatically be treated as a Wikipedia source. Instead, participants were guided to use fact-checks as a starting point for further research and to independently assess the underlying evidence against Wikipedia’s principles of neutrality, verifiability, reliable sourcing, no original research and due weight.
The newsroom sessions complemented this approach by examining how verified information can be incorporated into editorial workflows. Participants explored practical systems for identifying questionable information before publication, assessing the quality of evidence and preventing the inadvertent publication or amplification of false or misleading content. Participants also engaged in practical exercises on digital investigation, open-source information verification and sensitive interviews. These sessions were designed to help information professionals move beyond simply identifying false claims to understanding the evidence, context and verification processes required to establish what can reliably be published or added to public knowledge resources.
The final day moved from training to practical application through a hands-on Wikipedia edit-a-thon. Participants worked on existing election, political, governance, and public-interest articles while also developing new content identified as relevant to Nigeria’s information and electoral landscape. The immediate outputs recorded through the Wikimedia Outreach Dashboard show that the seminar generated six new articles and 52 edited articles, with participants making 296 total edits. The participating editors added an estimated 17,400 words and 170 references to Wikipedia articles. The dashboard also records nine Commons uploads, with three files subsequently used in articles.
Articles edited during the programme included 2027 Nigerian general election, 2026 Osun State gubernatorial election, 2026 Ekiti State gubernatorial election, 2019 Nigerian general election, Independent National Electoral Commission (Nigeria), Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), Permanent Voter’s Card, and articles on political parties and political actors.
Several articles received substantial additions during the edit-a-thon. The 2027 Nigerian general election article received an estimated 2,938 words and 35 references, while the 2026 Osun State gubernatorial election article received 1,099 words and 11 references. The Independent National Electoral Commission (Nigeria) article received 1,347 words and nine references, while the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System article received 1,343 words and 11 references during the programme period.
New articles were also created on topics including BVAS, the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), Permanent Voter’s Card and other subjects identified as relevant to Nigeria’s electoral information ecosystem.
The immediate outputs demonstrate the practical application of the seminar’s central approach: connecting fact-checking and evidence assessment with professional journalism and open knowledge. While fact-checkers investigate claims and assess evidence, newsroom editors apply editorial standards to information reaching audiences, and Wikimedia editors use independently assessed reliable sources to build and maintain publicly accessible knowledge.
Speaking on the initiative, Abideen Olasupo, Founder of FactCheckAfrica, said:
“Electoral integrity is also an information integrity challenge. Citizens need access to information that is accurate, verifiable and presented with sufficient context to understand the issues that affect their democratic choices. This training brought together fact-checkers, journalists and Wikimedia editors because each plays a different but important role in the information ecosystem. The immediate outputs from the edit-a-thon show that participants not only learned about information integrity; they applied those lessons to improve the accuracy, sourcing and coverage of election-related information on Wikipedia.”
The Lagos seminar is the first of two regional cycles under the activity. The second cycle is scheduled to take place in Abuja from 28–30 September 2026, bringing together another cohort of Wikimedia editors, newsroom editors and fact-checkers. Across the two regional cycles, the activity is expected to engage 70 participants and support the development of practical resources and outputs focused on electoral information integrity, including an electoral-integrity article target list, a Wikimedia editing guide and a portfolio of improved and newly created Wikipedia articles.
The work initiated during the Lagos edit-a-thon provides a foundation for continued improvement of election-related and public-interest Wikipedia content as Nigeria moves towards the 2027 general elections. Participants are also expected to continue applying the verification, editorial, and open-knowledge practices developed during the seminar within their respective professional and digital communities.
The seminar forms part of Activity 3.1.5a(7)ii titled Wikimedia for Electoral Integrity: Strengthening Wikimedia Editors’ Capacity to Counter Disinformation in Nigeria, under Thematic Area 1: Mis/Disinformation, Fact-checking and AI Learning of the EU Support to ECOWAS in Peace, Security and Governance (EPSG) Project.
This activity is organised by the Fundación para la Internacionalización de las Administraciones Públicas (FIAP) in collaboration with FactCheckAfrica, under the framework of the EU Support to ECOWAS in Peace, Security and Governance (EPSG) Project.
The Fundación para la Internacionalización de las Administraciones Públicas (FIAP) is the Spanish Cooperation institution specialised in promoting the participation of public administrations in international cooperation programmes. Operating in more than 120 countries, FIAP mobilises public sector expertise to strengthen public institutions, democratic governance, and sustainable development through peer-to-peer cooperation.
Within the EPSG Project, FIAP contributes to efforts to strengthen democratic governance, peace and security through initiatives addressing electoral integrity, information disorder, civic participation and the prevention of electoral violence.
The EU Support to ECOWAS in Peace, Security and Governance (EPSG) Project is a multi-donor initiative designed to strengthen peace, democratic governance and regional stability within ECOWAS Member States. The project is supported by the European Union (EU), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (MOFA), and is jointly implemented by GIZ, Expertise France, and FIAP.
For media enquiries: Email: factcheckelections@gmail.com Telephone: +2347068775529
Website: https://factcheckafrica.net
