Case Study: EthioCheck Lab

"Fact-Checking is a new concept in Ethiopia and exchanging ideas from different perspectives was very important." - Tsion Aklilu, freelance writer

This case study describes the process and findings of a human-centred design (HCD) activity that was undertaken by Deutsche Welle Akademie (DW Akademie) in an effort to find an accepted and feasible way to launch a fact-checking initiative in Ethiopia. The case study shows the process of gaining insights into the context-specific factors for fact-checking and the development of a strategy to support fact-checking in Ethiopia through the process of ideation (the generation of ideas and solutions).

DW Akademie initiated this HCD process as a starting point for a media development project in Ethiopia. The aim was to develop a better understanding and assess the current situation regarding misinformation and dis-information. As explained in the report, "Ongoing reforms in Ethiopia have led to an opening up of the media landscape. But challenges remain: Increased access to all manner of information and the spread of mis- and disinformation, coupled with low media literacy, is contributing to the escalation of conflicts throughout the country....Currently, there is little consolidated effort in Ethiopia to develop systematic fact-checking mechanisms to counter the negative effects of mis- and disinformation on society. Reception of news and information is strongly influenced by state-affiliated media, as well as political and cultural factors. It is therefore very important to gain insight into the context facing fact-checkers in Ethiopia, and develop ideas for fact-checking initiatives suitable for the particularities of the Ethiopian context."

Due to limited time and resources, a LeanUX1 (Lean User Experience) approach was used that combines HCD and design thinking tools in a series of workshops. As explained in the case study, design thinking is a set of methods to explore context-specific challenges by focusing on finding creative solutions for real problems of people. HCD is a creative approach to problem solving that develops solutions by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process. This is essential when developing projects with local partners and ensures that cultural and political contexts are considered. It helps make systems more usable by early integration of occupational science, ergonomics, and usability knowledge in product developments. Four key activities characterise the HCD approach: context of use analysis, specification of user requirements, production of design solutions (through the process of ideation), and evaluation of these design solutions.

The process involved journalists and media experts from Ethiopia and was conducted between October 2019 and February 2020 in Addis Ababa. It included extensive research as well as two 5-day workshops. The first workshop on Context of Use Analysis focused on an approach to identify important contextual factors in Ethiopia, and the second workshop - on Ideation and Problem Solving - used these results to generate ideas about how to support fact-checkers in Ethiopia.

The Context of Use Analysis involved collecting the knowledge and opinion of participants about mis- and disinformation in order to identify major topics and issues. It also involved a stakeholder and user mapping, a transfer analysis, initiation of ideation, and identification of fact-checker needs. For the transfer analysis, participants, for example, looked at solutions already being used effectively in other countries and discussed how such solutions could work in Ethiopia. Two existing solutions were introduced to the participants: FactCheck Mongolia, and Pesacheck, an organisation affiliated with Code for Africa that operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and other African countries and runs on the collaborative tool Meedan. Participants then worked in groups to analyse the solutions and identify factors for implementation in the Ethiopian context. The first workshop resulted in four ideas that were dedicated to creating a collaborative approach for fact-checkers. All of the ideas involved a website, the use of fact-checking tools, and a physical office. The most frequently mentioned risks were security for fact-checkers and financial sustainability. Another important need articulated was training and capacity building for journalists and fact-checkers.

For the second Ideation and Problem Solving workshop, participants collaboratively prototyped the discussed options and conceptualised the implementation strategy for use in Ethiopia. Two approaches were identified and discussed. The first service design, titled "Open FactCheck Lab", involved "an open physical space, set up in conjunction with an Ethiopian implementation partner. This design foresees the step-by-step creation of a fact-checking community by recruiting, then training and testing fact-checking environments. It aims to provide a physical as well as virtual space with a website for fact-checkers. The first phase of this vision is providing a learning space for fact-checkers and building a trusted fact-checking community. In the second phase, the space could also function as an incubator of professional fact-checking projects."

EthioCheck Lab was the second service design that emerged out of the workshop. The vision for this idea is to establish and support structures within already existing media houses. The idea was informed by previous findings that media houses are currently not doing much in the way of verification. The objective of this vision is to set up fact-checking desks in selected media houses in a structured and sustainable way.

Based on the user needs and these prototype solutions, DW Akademie and the facilitator team identified the following initial ideas for steps that could be taken to support fact-checking in Ethiopia:

• Find a partner organisation/institution in Ethiopia that wants to cooperate in the area of fact-checking. Support this partner with finances, expertise, and continuous exchange.
• Cooperate with already-active fact-checkers as multipliers, co-trainers, and local experts.
• Find a group of early adaptors who want to do fact-checking as part of their professional work.
• Conduct fact-checking trainings for media houses and early adaptors, and train local trainers in order to continue fact-checking capacity building, also in local languages.
• Encourage and finance south-south partnerships between fact-checking organisations in Ethiopia and neighbouring countries such as Kenya.
• Test digital tools for collaborative fact-checking, train partners to use them, and set up a test platform where future fact-checkers can exercise collaborative fact-checking in a protected environment.
• Support the implementing partner with funds, expertise, and continuous exchange over the coming years.