Golden Matonga, chairperson of MISA Malawi.

The Malawi chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has launched iVerify, an initiative aimed at protecting the integrity of information on social media and in the press ahead of the country's next election.

The country will go to the polls in September to elect councillors, members of Parliament, and the president in a general election held once every five years.

The media monitoring organisation works with the United Nations Development Programme. According to MISA, the team follows a 'proven triple-verification technique, where each content is examined and approved by three iVerify members before a verified report is published.'

The team consists of professional journalists, IT, legal specialists, and the MISA Secretariat. They also teach journalists in fact-checking and educate the broader public on combating fake news.

Golden Matonga, chairperson of MISA Malawi, told ITWeb Africa that the project is critical for combating misinformation and disinformation, especially during election season, as both pose a serious threat to democracy.

“Fake news can erode trust in the electoral processes and institutions spark unrest and lead to bloodshed. Advanced technology such as AI (Artificial Intelligence) has made combating fake news more challenging but with improved fact checking capabilities, we can be able to mitigate its impact,” he said.