A Kenyan journalist has joined an international fact-checking organisation to boost its accountability journalism. In this new development, Mr Enock Nyariki has been appointed as community and impact manager for the Poynter Institute, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to journalistic excellence.
The appointment is part of the expansion of Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to advance accountability journalism worldwide. Besides, IFCN also named Deirdre Gonsalves as program officer.
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism training and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media, and 21st-century public discourse.
Baybars Örsek, director of the IFCN and director of international programming at Poynter said, “Enock brings keen digital media skills and an ability to foster meaningful collaboration that transcends borders and language barriers.”
Nyakiri is expected to elevate IFCN’s work in countering misinformation and advocate for the growing community of fact-checkers around the world. As community and impact manager, Mr Nyariki will lead the unified fact-checking efforts to extend the reach and impact of the IFCN.
Mr Nyariki will play an integral role in tracking, monitoring and evaluating trends, academic research and regulation efforts against global misinformation. He will be instrumental in developing, implementing and supporting collaborative projects and initiatives to uphold the integrity of the universal information ecosystem such as the world’s largest annual fact-checking summit hosted by IFCN,
“At a time when misinformation is threatening to ruin democracies and fact-checkers are facing harassment in many parts of the world, I can’t think of a better season to join IFCN and help build resilience while supporting the noble work being done by fact-checkers everywhere,” said Mr Nyariki. “I’m looking forward to connecting with members of the community and collaborating to increase the impact of their important work.”
Before joining the IFCN team, Mr Nyariki held the managing editor and news editor positions at IFCN signatory PesaCheck, Africa’s largest indigenous fact-checking organization working to debunk misleading claims said by public figures in 12 African countries.
He led a team of 35 employees to verify statements in five languages including Amharic, French, English, Afaan Oromo and Swahili. Nyariki, who attended Moi University and the University of Nairobi, serves as a representative for the fact-checking community in Africa, the Middle East and Turkey region in Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Consulting Group and addresses harassment against fact-checkers as a member of an IFCN working group launched in July 2021.
He has spoken at various journalism events including the International Symposium on Online Journalism, The African Investigative Journalism Conference and Highway Africa.
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