Paris (AFP)

Facebook will expand its fact-checking program to ten new African countries, from Guinea Conakry to Zambia, in partnership with AFP and other media, the social network said Tuesday.

The Facebook program will now be available in Ethiopia, Zambia, Somalia and Burkina Faso via a partnership with AFP; in Uganda and Tanzania through Pesa Check and AFP; in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Côte d? Ivoire thanks to Observateurs de France 24 and AFP; in Guinea Conakry via Les Observateurs and in Ghana with the help of Dubawa.

These countries join South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon and Senegal, already beneficiaries of the program through the Africa Check organization.

"We know third-party fact checking is not the only solution, it's just one of the many initiatives we're investing in to help improve the quality of information people see on Facebook." said Kojo Boakye, Facebook's public affairs officer in sub-Saharan Africa.

"We have already made great progress and we will continue to invest to ensure that Facebook remains a space that welcomes all opinions but not false information," he said.

Phil Chetwynd, AFP's chief editor, was delighted "to expand his fact-checking project with Facebook."

"We are known for the high quality of our journalism across Africa and we will leverage our unparalleled network of offices and journalists on the continent to fight misinformation," he said.

AFP participates in nearly 30 countries and 9 languages ​​in the "third party fact-checking", a third-party verification program developed by Facebook since 2016. About sixty media worldwide, general or specialized in fact-checking , are also involved.

If an information is diagnosed as false or misleading by any of these media, Facebook users are less likely to see it appear in their newsfeed. And if they see it or try to share it, Facebook suggests that they read the verification article.

The articles are not deleted and the participating media remain free in the choice and treatment of their subjects.

According to Eric Mugendi, editor-in-chief of Pesa Check, "social networks like Facebook have not only changed the way Africans consume information, they are often the main access to digital content or the Internet for many people. Africans (...) The program helps us react faster and more directly and we see some really positive results in our interactions with publishers and the public itself. "

© 2019 AFP