News Verifier Africa is a Nigeria-based fact-checking outlet established in 2020 to confront misinformation that spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Co-founded by journalists Zainab Oyiza Sanni and Olakunle Mohammed, the organisation publishes claim checks and explainers while designing formats that ordinary audiences can use and share. Beyond articles, the team produces radio dramas and podcasts on public health and runs media literacy sessions with community partners.
Its signature initiative, Facts Inclusive, focuses on people often shut out of news: those with hearing or visual impairments and communities with low literacy. With support from the International Center for Journalists’ LEAP Innovation Lab, the project introduced Kudi, an animated sign-language presenter that delivers verdicts on whether a claim is true, false or misleading. The organisation also rebuilt its platform so every fact check is available in audio, and worked with the Abuja Deaf Association and other groups to develop sign-language training resources and accessible workflows.
News Verifier Africa applied these tools during Nigeria’s 2023 general elections and in ongoing monitoring of viral misinformation across the region. Operating under the Media Inno Tech umbrella, it aims to make verification practical, local and inclusive—reaching Yoruba-speaking audiences through broadcast content and prioritising formats that meet people where they are. Its work underscores a simple premise: accuracy only matters if everyone can access it.