Ondo: Leverage on Technology for Credible Elections Coverage, IPC Tells Journalists
By Olusegun HOSEA, 16th October, 2026.
The International Press Centre (IPC) has encouraged journalists in Ondo State to endeavour to leverage technology for the coverage of the 2027 general elections.
The charge came during a one-day GOCOP interface and capacity-building programme for media professionals on professional and accountability journalism ahead of next year’s elections.
The programme, which was a component of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN III), Component 4: Support to Media, was organised to strengthen journalists’ capacity to fulfil their constitutional mandate and contribute to the development of democracy in the country.
Speaking, the Executive Director of the IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, in his welcome address delivered by Stella Nwofia welcomed all the participants to the forum.
He said, “I give you warm greetings and sincere appreciation for your presence and commitment to a conversation that is critical to the future of our democracy and the role of the media in strengthening democratic accountability ahead of the 2027 general elections.”
She explained that “this interface comes at a particularly significant moment in our democratic journey, as the country gradually approaches another general election cycle. There is a compelling need for the media to reflect on its responsibilities, reassess its approaches to electoral reporting, and strengthen its capacity to provide citizens with credible, balanced, inclusive, and public-interest information.”
While explaining the importance of the programme, Stella said elections were not only about political campaigns but also about the issues and aspirations of the people.
She explained that “the importance of this responsibility cannot be overstated. Elections are not merely about political campaigns, rallies, candidates, and the eventual announcement of results. They are also about citizens, their aspirations, their concerns, their expectations of leadership, and their right to make informed decisions about the future of their country.”
The event highlighted the relevance of the media in election coverage as a major stakeholder in the electoral process. The media occupies a strategic position in any democratic society. Beyond reporting political activities and electoral events, the media has a responsibility to facilitate informed public discourse, scrutinise political promises, hold public officials accountable, and ensure that citizens’ voices are heard in the democratic process.
According to her, journalists were encouraged to verify their reports and ensure balance before publishing them for public consumption, as unverified reports could lead to disinformation and disorder.
In her words, “The effectiveness of this responsibility depends significantly on the quality of electoral reporting. An election period characterised by sensationalism, unverified claims, inflammatory rhetoric, and the unchecked spread of misinformation and disinformation can undermine public confidence, deepen social divisions, and weaken democratic institutions.”
She said, conversely, a media environment that prioritises accuracy, fairness, verification, conflict-sensitive reporting, and accountability could strengthen public trust and contribute to peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections.
She said that was why journalists must begin to look beyond event-driven electoral coverage towards more substantive, issue-based, and citizen-centred reporting.
In her speech, Stella said the media’s responsibility also involved how effectively journalists could interrogate campaign promises, document citizens’ priority concerns, verify political claims, monitor the performance of elected officials, and provide the public with the information necessary to assess governance.
Speaking further, she said a major concern was the changing information environment in which elections now took place. The growing influence of digital platforms had created new opportunities for information sharing and public participation.
She said that, at the same time, it had increased the spread and scale at which false information, manipulated content, hate speech, and divisive narratives could circulate.
The media, she said, must strengthen its verification skills, exercise caution before publishing politically sensitive information, and resist the pressure to prioritise speed over accuracy.
In this regard, fact-checking and verification should not be treated as optional additions to journalism but must be integral to responsible electoral reporting.
Similarly, the director explained that the safety of journalists in the field was very important.
“We must also pay close attention to the safety and professional independence of journalists, who should be able to carry out their legitimate duties without intimidation, harassment, or unlawful interference,” she said.
She explained that journalists should ensure they developed stories on issues relating to the forthcoming 2027 general elections after the training.
“Ultimately, the success of this engagement should not be measured only by the quality of our discussions or the number of participants in attendance. It should be reflected in the stories we publish, the claims we verify, the citizens whose concerns we amplify, the accountability questions we ask, and the professional standards we uphold in the months leading to the 2027 general elections.”
She said the IPC was grateful to the European Union for providing funding support for the project under which the interface had been convened.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the online media professionals, Mr Joseph Adesuyan, urged the participants to participate actively in the programme.
He encouraged them to stay safe during the 2027 general elections and admonished journalists to consider issues affecting the public interest first to avoid being perceived as biased in their reports.
Another resource person who spoke at the programme was Daniel Dabo, who called for leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for journalism benefits.
Mr Dabo, a digital media expert, encouraged journalists to leverage artificial intelligence to improve journalism practice.
He explained that the technology could assist with editing and verifying images and content as the 2027 elections approached.
He urged journalists to indicate in their reports whenever they used AI-generated images.
In his lecture, he introduced the participants to five ways journalists could maximise AI for election reporting, including spotting disorder news, studying election results, checking media content, tracking events, and training. He said these applications could help journalists improve their reports.
In another development, Mr Adegbenro Adebanjo, Director of Corporate Communications at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), took the participants through the topic, “2027 General Elections in the Context of Democratic and Accountability Reporting.”
He explained that journalists should scrutinise the electoral environment and report citizens’ priority concerns.
In his presentation, he said journalists should avoid becoming too familiar with party agents and politicians while carrying out their duties. He also advised them to prioritise their safety, avoid working alone, and plan their movements carefully during the elections.
He said journalists should leave any location if they discovered that the atmosphere had become hostile.
He added that all records made by journalists in the course of their reporting should be kept intact for future reference.
In his presentation, Olusola Oludiran, a fact-checker at the Nigeria Democratic Report (NDR), took the participants through fact-checking.
He identified some of the content and claims that could be fact-checked, including data, reported stories, research claims, declarative statements, images, videos, and public-interest claims, among others.
He also identified other aspects of claims that could not be fact-checked, including opinions, predictions, electoral promises, private conversations that were not recorded, vote-buying claims, projections, and promises.
The participants were also taught how to fact-check information during the session.
The event featured practical activities in which the participants were divided into three groups, with each group providing solutions to assigned tasks.
The event came to a close with an interactive session.
