Hamadou Tidiane Sy

Combatting fake news in time of pandemic

The fight against the COVID-19 crisis is also a fight for verifiable and accurate news, especially for the general public. Which is why Ouestaf News, in line with its long-established editorial policy, has embarked in efforts to produce reliable information to inform the public opinion and counter the flood of fake-news in Senegal and West Africa. 

Hamadou Tidiane Sy

Entrepreneur Name: Hamadou Tidiane Sy, Ashoka Fellow 

Organization: Ouestaf News 

Country: Senegal 

Website: ouestaf.com 

Field of action: Combatting Fake News and Corruption 

Needs support to achieve greater impact in: Fundraising, Human Resources, Communication and Marketing

The mission of the social enterprise before and after Coronavirus

Ouestaf News is an award-winning West African online news outlet in which a corps of independent, investigative journalists report on the stories they care about without being subject to outside pressure. This media approach is helping to redefine African journalism by positively impacting the dissemination of local and regional news. Ouestaf News focuses on ensuring that the stories reported are trustworthy, fact-based, and fact-checked, to the standards of the most professional of traditional and global news outlets. By establishing a well-respected, reputable alternative news service, they hope to show the world that this approach to news is both sustainable and achievable.

People have become less likely to consume or accept information due to the flood of fake news. The big challenge for citizens in countries where media literacy is non–existent is how to distinguish fact from fiction, particularly in an era where producing and disseminating content has become so easy for every single individual with an internet connection.  It is now harder to tell fact from fiction with so much information available.  

Ouestaf News is producing reliable and in-depth information to inform the public opinion and counter the flood of fake news. Inaddition, Ouestaf News has opened up the opportunity to various citizens, thinkers, and activists to share their opinions on the lessons learned from the pandemic.

Create the post-COVID world. 

Help Hamadou and his team develop their solution!

Ouestaf News‘s concrete needs facing Covid-19:

  • Digital Expertise: multimedia producer or technologist (infographics, video, podcasts, etc.) to produce content for the website.
  • Human Resources: to recruit journalists and freelancers.
  • Funding and Financing: to cover additional journalists and the production of brochures.
SUPPORT