Penplusbytes, with support from the Norwegian Embassy, is implementing the Ghana Anti-Disinformation Coalition Project, a nationally coordinated initiative aimed at reducing the spread and societal impact of disinformation through collaborative action, localised research, and AI-powered innovation. With support from stakeholders, including the media, civil society actors, technology innovators, and community leaders, the project aims at building a resilient, evidence-based information ecosystem grounded in verified facts and local knowledge.
With disinformation increasingly spreading through local languages and dialects such as Hausa and Twi, rural and underserved communities remain particularly vulnerable due to limited access to traditional fact-checking resources. False narratives are often culturally adapted and regionally targeted, making them difficult to counter using generic, English-language verification tools. The Ghana Anti-Disinformation Coalition Project directly addresses this gap by prioritising coordinated action and solutions that reflect Ghana’s linguistic and cultural realities.
The project adopts a community-centred and technology-driven approach, combining rigorous research with innovative digital tools. Key interventions include the development of an online fact-checking marketplace app where journalists, researchers, and community members can submit claims for verification and access a growing repository of fact-checked content. In addition, AI-powered disinformation detection tools will be deployed to identify and flag false narratives circulating in Hausa and Twi, enabling early warning and rapid response across local media channels.
As part of its evidence-building efforts, the project will also undertake baseline research to establish impact indicators and track changes in disinformation exposure and media literacy at the community level. This will be complemented by a “Language as a Vector” research initiative, an academic study examining how local dialects and artificial intelligence intersect in the spread and mitigation of disinformation, generating insights relevant to Ghana and the wider African context. Targeted youth media literacy programmes will further equip in-school and out-of-school youth with critical thinking and digital skills to identify and counter misinformation within their communities.
According to the project’s research and technology lead, Dr. Kwami Ahiabenu, “the project is designed to strengthen Ghana’s information resilience by placing communities, evidence, and collaboration at the centre of disinformation response efforts. We recognise that disinformation exploits information gaps, language, and culture, and so by combining local knowledge with technology and research, we are creating tools and partnerships that empower communities to respond effectively and sustainably to false narratives.”
The Ghana Anti-Disinformation Coalition Project forms part of Penplusbytes’ broader commitment to promoting media and information literacy, strengthening democratic participation, and fostering social cohesion through transparent, evidence-based public discourse. Through this initiative, Penplusbytes aims to position Ghana as a regional leader in localised, AI-enabled disinformation mitigation within the sub-region and across the African continent.
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About Penplusbytes
Penplusbytes is a not-for-profit organisation driving change through innovations in three key areas: using digital technologies to promote good governance and accountability; advancing new media and innovation; and enhancing media oversight for the effective utilisation of mining, oil, and gas revenues and resources.