I was recently invited by the Undergraduate Essayists Group to facilitate a workshop on — you guessed it — essay writing. Fun fact: The group has trained hundreds of young and aspiring writers across Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. When the founder reached out via LinkedIn in May, he mentioned that many of their previous trainers …
Read more “A bunch of things you might want to know about essay writing”
In what ways will the artificial intelligence revolution help journalists? I have a couple of ideas (ten in total). Some of them are painfully obvious. Others, not so much.
I am very suspicious of the notion that I have something valuable to teach others. So you must understand how difficult it is for me to write an article like this because who am I to presume I have enough expertise to tell others what to do and what to avoid? But then, if I’ve …
Read more “Don’t be lazy, and 15 other random writing tips for journalists”
The spread of misinformation on the internet can be likened to a wildfire. It begins with a spark. Then, it is picked up by another thing that catches fire and continues to spread until everyone is talking about it. As a researcher, you come across this fact, and because it is featured in so many …
Read more “From tiny sparks to wildfires: How misinformation sprouts in the internet era”
A lot of resources have been invested in getting journalists to do more fact-checking. But increasingly, we’re realising that it is not enough to verify claim after claim. It is not even enough to go after disinformation networks and get hundreds of bot accounts suspended from various social media websites. We also need to boost …
Read more “Innovative approaches to media literacy in the fight against misinformation”
January 5, 2020. 21:11. I’m hoping this will be worth it. And fun. This is my first diary entry. I’m late to the party, I know, having been born over two decades ago. This feels weird already. Not sure why. Maybe because it’s like I’m giving an account of myself to myself. And I’m not …
Read more “Why I started journaling and why you should too, according to my journal”
When Mohammed Nagi Alassam enrolled in medical school, it would have been hard to imagine him as one of the faces of a revolution that would years later, change the course of his country. Sudan has huddled under the boots of dictators for many years. Backed by Islamists, in 1989, Omar al-Bashir, then a 45-year-old …
Read more “Sudanese Doctors Diagnosed Their Country And Prescribed A Revolution”
One name that comes up often in the war against disinformation in Nigeria is the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist organisation whose controversial campaign has ripped through Nigeria’s airwaves and internet spaces for over a decade. Despite multiple attempts to muffle its message, it has continued to have a powerful presence both on …
Read more “The IPOB Diaspora Network Pushing Disinformation In Nigeria”
Boko Haram wanted Adam Lawan dead. As a politician and vigilante, he represented everything they detested: allegiance to democratic rule and brazen defiance of the group’s armed insurgency. So they went after him each time they raided Uta, a village in Bama, northeastern Nigeria. But Adam was lucky to escape the attempts on his life. The …
Read more “Chased By Terrorists, Caught By The Military: Two Sides Of An Ugly War”
When in Dec. 2018, the people of Sudan thronged the streets to protest a failing economy, they met a resistance that reminded them they were also victims of an autocracy that had succeeded for far too long. So, they cranked up their demands, concerning themselves not only with the unattainable prices of bread and fuel, …
Read more “Civil Society Groups Rise To Safeguard Sudan’s Shaky Transition To Democracy”