Abideen Olasupo, the founder of FactCheck Africa, a nonprofit fact-checking platform, has been selected for the 2025 AI Journalism Lab Leadership Cohort hosted by the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY), United States.
Conducted by CUNY in partnership with Microsoft, the lab brings together from around the world influential journalists, media executives, technologists, and thought leaders focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence and the future of journalism.
The organisers, in a statement published on their website, said participants selected for the programme are trailblazers at the intersection of journalism and technology, noting that the lab would empower them to navigate the complexities of AI while inspiring positive change in the media industry.
“The cohort members hail from across the globe — including Brazil, Germany, India, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Their professional expertise spans newsroom leadership, editorial strategy, audience engagement, and product development,” the statement added.
The programme will run virtually from January to April 2025, beginning with a two-day, in-person introductory session currently underway at CUNY.
Olasupo, who is currently in New York, joins a group of 23 prominent news leaders from across the globe, who will explore cutting-edge technologies that are transforming the media landscape. Through this cohort, he will deepen his understanding of AI-driven tools that can enhance journalistic accuracy, streamline fact-checking processes, and fight the growing tide of misinformation.
He will also learn from AI and journalism experts about how to integrate AI tools into media workflows, increase transparency in newsrooms, and tackle challenges related to deepfakes, algorithmic bias, and data manipulation.
Olasupo was selected for the programme in recognition of his contributions to the field of fact-checking in Africa through his organisation, FactCheck Africa. In April 2024, the organisation unveiled ‘MyAIFactchecker’, Africa’s first artificial intelligence-powered fact-checking platform, to counter the spread of misinformation and disinformation on the continent.
This innovative platform allows you to verify the authenticity of news, social media posts, and other online content quickly and conveniently. It has a chatbot interface, feedback mechanism, and voice search capability that is available in English, Swahili, French, Arabic, and other popular local languages in Nigeria.
Also in 2024, Olasupo’s organisation launched a 3-month AI Journalism Fellowship to equip selected journalists in West Africa with the knowledge, skills, and ethical considerations needed to navigate AI in journalism.
Additionally, the organisation has developed a toolkit that includes a database of AI tools and adoption framework for newsrooms. It has also led a community of practice on AI and news as well as AI and elections.
Recently, FactCheck Africa developed a flashcard gamification to simplify fact-checking and media literacy for children with a view to raising information integrity ambassadors.
Speaking on his selection for the 2025 AI Journalism Lab Leadership Cohort, Olasupo said “this programme perfectly aligns with FactCheck Africa’s mission to improve media literacy, promote critical thinking, and provide reliable fact-checking services to the African public.”
He added that he was delighted with the opportunity provided by the programme for him to collaborate with other media leaders across the globe to create synergies that will further elevate his work in the realm of digital journalism and fact-checking.
Olasupo also pledged to share whatever knowledge and skills he gains through the programme with his colleagues in Africa in order to foster positive change in the media industry on the continent and globally.
