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AFP launches master certificates for online training on tackling misinformation

 

Leading global news agency AFP has released master certificates for its online training platform on tackling misinformation, announced at GlobalFact 11 fact-checking conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on June 26.

 

The new master certificates correspond to three levels of courses: basics, intermediate, and advanced. Each course lasts around one hour and covers topics such as efficient online search, verifying pictures and videos, archiving, and tackling misinformation around elections, health, or climate.

In response to user requests for more practice on internet search and verification techniques, AFP has also released a new exercise module for level one. The additional module marks the 15th online course developed by AFP’s award-winning digital investigation team, the largest in the world with more than 150 journalists working in 26 languages. 

Since 2022, more than 20,000 journalists and journalism students have registered on the open-access platform, with an overall satisfaction rate of 4.35 out of 5. The programme was developed with the support of the Google News Initiative, and is available in four languages — English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

The courses have been used and adopted by journalism schools globally, including Sciences Po Paris and CFJ (Centre de Formation de Journalistes) in France, the Journalism and Media Studies Centre (HKU) in Hong Kong, PUC-SP in São Paulo, Brazil and the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.

The digital courses platform was recognised as an official honouree in the 2024 Webby Awards. The training also includes tutorial and case-study videos, which were awarded best fact-checking project in the 2024 WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Worldwide, and third place in the category of best new video product or feature in the 2024 INMA Global Media Awards.

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