Fact-checking and Digital Rights Fellowship

Concept Note

Fellowship period: 19 September 2022 – 19 November 2022

Application Period: 19 August 2022 to 03 September 2022

#defyhatenow South Sudan, with support from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) in the context of the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF), is calling for applications for a Fact-checking and Digital Rights Fellowship, to be offered to successful candidates for a period of two (02) months.

The fellows will be hosted by 211 Check and SafetyComm South Sudan to provide them with exposure to fact-checking, and digital rights issues. The fellows will also write fact-check articles and stories on digital rights issues under the organization’s guidance.

With increasing internet penetration and the rapid increase of internet users in South Sudan, fact-checking and digital rights issues have become a core focus area within the ambit of the protection of fundamental rights.

Fact-checking and digital rights issues in South Sudan are currently facing significant challenges, including constraints in terms of human resource capacity and domain expertise.

To address these issues, #defyhatenow South Sudan is excited to announce the first edition of its fact-checking and digital rights fellowship.

This fellowship is a way to transfer knowledge and develop leaders who are committed and working toward civic freedoms, digital rights and a healthy information ecosystem in South Sudan.

Components of the fellowship -

• Fact-checking and digital rights training.
• Mentorship and collaboration with #defyhatenow South Sudan partners.
• Fellowship may include attending in-person and virtual relevant events related to Fact-checking and Digital Rights issues.
• A monthly stipend during the fellowship period.
• Technical and content support for the fellows in the event that they want to conduct campaigns or produce content about fact-checking and digital rights issues during the fellowship.

The Fellowship has the following objectives –

• To support the development of fact-checking and digital rights by providing high-quality training and mentorship support.

• To engage in and produce fact-check stories and digital rights articles.

• To build an inclusive and mutually supportive fact-checking and digital rights community in South Sudan with a long-term vision for building a safer online experience for all.

Fellowship expectations:

• Fellows will dedicate a minimum of forty hours a week to fellowship-related activities.
• Each Fellow will be expected to participate in all scheduled activities and to publish at least four (04) features/reports on fact-checking and digital rights issues during the fellowship period.
• Fellows will retain full editorial direction on the stories that they publish and any other content they create.
• Fellows will be expected to continue to provide important insights on fact-checking and digital rights issues after their fellowship.

The Fellowship Programme

This fellowship is a 02-month program that will be awarded by a selection committee. Fellows will be placed in either 211 Check or SafetyComm South Sudan to undertake practice around fact-checking or digital rights issues. The offices are at Hai Malakal and Munuki in Juba.

The Fellowship will commence on Monday, September 19th, 2022. A monthly, non-negotiable stipend of USD 200 will be provided to a full-time fellow. We will be offering four fellowships covering full-time fellows only.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Fact-checking and Digital Rights Fellows:

• Media monitoring, reporting, and incident response

Fellows will undertake extensive social media monitoring to spot dis/misinformation, hate speech, and cyber threats and respond in a prescribed format. Fellows will also be involved in investigating dis/misinformation campaigns, scams, and hoaxes, and where necessary, draft and publish reports.

• Research and output

The Fellows will be required to carry out high-impact research and write briefs, reports, responses, blogs, articles, and other documents around fact-checking and digital rights issues.

• Building a national network of fact-checkers and digital rights stakeholders

The Fellows will convene stakeholders working on fact-checking and digital rights issues to enable an exchange of ideas and facilitate learning from each other.

Eligibility

Applicants for this in-person full-time fellowship –

• Must be located in Juba, South Sudan at the time of the start of the fellowship.
• Must have received fact-checking and digital literacy training from #defyhatenow South Sudan
• Must demonstrate a strong interest in and commitment to the development of fact-checking and digital rights in South Sudan and beyond;
• Have excellent writing, drafting and oral advocacy skills.
• Must have a notable social media presence across several platforms.
• Must be interested to do advocacy and engagement work on fact-checking and digital rights within their school, university, or organisation;

Preference will be given to the selection of full-time fellows. However, the selection committee may consider part-time fellows.

Deadline

All applications must be submitted by September 03, 2023, at 04:30 PM.

Interested parties may apply on or before Sunday, September 03, 2022, at 04:30 Juba time (GMT +2). For further inquiries about this opportunity, please reach out to #defyhatenow South Sudan Communications Officer at media@defyhatenow.org.

APPLICATION FORM: https://forms.gle/6QbzJM6WVaLZNdE5A 

Your Name:

Your Residence:

Your Date of Birth:

Your Sex:

Your E-mail Address:

Your Telephone Phone:

Your Present Occupation:

Your Institution:

Which social media platforms are you active across?

• Facebook
• Instagram
• WhatsApp
• Telegram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• TikTok
• Likee
• Imo
• Viber
• Snapchat
• WeChat
• Pinterest

Have you ever been trained in fact-checking and digital literacy by #defyhatenow South Sudan?

If so, when and where?

Select the department to which you seek to be hosted:

• 211 Check
• SafetyComm South Sudan

What kind of work, educational, and/or personal experience have you had that you consider relevant to your application for this fellowship?

What is your reason for applying for this fellowship?

What do you hope to accomplish/gain from this fellowship?

How does this type of fellowship relate to your long-term career goals?

Thank you for your interest in this Fact-checking and Digital Rights Fellowship Programme. As soon as the deadline to apply closes, applications will be reviewed.

An email will be sent to the provided email address of every selected participant. If you do not receive an email from us by the start of October, you have not been selected.