Understanding the Concept of Political Fact-Checking in an Election Year: A Comparative Analysis of Political Fact-Checking by Dubawa Ghana and Ghana Fact During Ghana’s 2020 General Election.

Abstract

There is a paucity of literature within the field of fact-checking, particularly political fact checking during elections in Africa and Ghana specifically. This dissertation therefore examines the conduct of political fact-checking by two fact-checking organizations namely; Dubawa Ghana and Ghana Fact during Ghana’s 2020 general election with a focus on, among others, political fact-check worthiness, verdicts/ratings of fact-checked political claims, source and topic of fact-checked political claims and how political fact check reports were communicated to the public. Grounded within the theory of echo chamber in politics and social media, the qualitative approach to data collection and analyses was used for this dissertation. Six (6) fact-checkers, thus three (3) each from Dubawa Ghana and Ghana Fact were interviewed, audio recorded, transcribed and findings thematically analyzed to understand the concept of political fact-checking in Ghana’s 2020 general election. The study realized that the political fact-checking activities employed by both Dubawa Ghana and Ghana Fact during Ghana’s 2020 general election included chronologically; the capacity building of journalists and media organizations across the country, searching for political claims by being active on the various social media platforms, mainly Whatsapp and Facebook, determining fact-check worthiness, using digital tools as well as desktop research and or contacting and accessing information from available, multiple and reliable sources, preparing the fact-check report and determining the verdict/rating.