Africa-Press – Cape verde. The University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV), the Association of Journalists of Cape Verde (Ajoc), and the Regulatory Authority for Social Communication (ARC) signed a tripartite agreement that will allow the creation of the Fact-Checking Center (CV-Fact) to strengthen the fight against disinformation and protect democracy and fundamental rights in the digital environment.
The document was signed this morning in Praia by the rector of the University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV), the vice-president of the Cape Verdean Journalists’ Union (Ajoc), and the president of the Regulatory Authority for Social Communication (ARC).
Alfredo Pereira, from ARC, explained that the new center is a continuation of a process initiated about a year ago with the creation of a pilot project to combat disinformation at the National Elections Commission (CNE).
He highlighted that CV-Fact will be headquartered at Uni-CV, which will provide all the physical and technological infrastructure, while ARC will handle editorial and operational coordination, and Ajoc will appoint intermediate coordinators. He added that the verification team will also include fact-checkers, that is, 4th-year Uni-CV students who will be specifically trained to perform this function.
He explained that these students will monitor content circulating on social media and in the media, as well as investigate complaints from citizens or institutions about false information that may generate misinformation or public disturbance.
On the occasion, the Vice-Rector of Technology, Innovation and Data at Uni-CV, Celestino Barros, emphasized the academic and social relevance of the initiative, highlighting that it will allow students to participate in research projects, empower the academic community, and deepen studies related to misinformation, especially in an era marked by artificial intelligence.
“The issue of misinformation, especially with artificial intelligence, ends up gaining extreme relevance, and next year we will have elections, where we are already able to see some movement on social media, which fundamentally also ends up driving the creation of the center itself,” he stressed.
In turn, the vice-president of Ajoc, Gisela Coelho, stated that the creation of this platform had been desired for a long time, not only by the journalistic community, but also by various national and international institutions.
She recalled that the United Nations has supported the implementation of similar structures in other countries and that its arrival in Cape Verde is particularly timely, given the increase in ‘fake news’ and the need to promote clear and reliable information.
“This platform also has a very interesting aspect, and citizens themselves can request to verify that news, (…) the initiative will come from journalists, but also from civil society,” she added.
CV-Fact has the technical and financial support of UNDP and is expected to become operational in February 2026.
For More News And Analysis About Cape verde Follow Africa-Press
