Dubawa

What Dubawa does

Dubawa is a non-profit fact-checking organization that verifies viral claims, debunking misinformation across politics, health, sports, economy, and security for African audiences. It is an initiative of the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) and is certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). The organization publishes fact-checks, explainers, media-literacy resources, and long-form investigative reports ("DUBAWA In-depth"), and runs a "Facebook Checks" program targeting viral content on Meta's platform.

The platform operates across 11 West African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Benin, Mali, and Niger) with country-specific portals such as ghana.dubawa.org, and produces content in English and four African languages (Hausa, Igbo, Krio, Yoruba). Fact-checking operations are human-led and supported by assistive forensic tooling — including InVid for reverse image and video analysis, and Deepware Scanner for AI-generated content and deepfake detection — combined with expert consultation and cross-referencing against authoritative sources (UK NMC, UN Population Fund, national electoral commissions). Distribution is primarily digital via dubawa.org, Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and email newsletter, with no native mobile app.

Dubawa is funded through grants from philanthropic foundations, with the MacArthur Foundation explicitly named as a supporter. The service is provided free of charge to the general public, civil society organizations, and media outlets. Headcount is approximately 27, with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria and a regional office in Accra, Ghana. As a non-profit operating under PTCIJ, Dubawa does not pursue traditional monetization; financial sustainability is anchored to multi-year grant cycles and funder diversification.

Name

Dubawa

Legal name

Dubawa

Website

https://dubawa.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dubawa is a non-profit IFCN-certified fact-checking initiative of PTCIJ that verifies viral claims and publishes investigative reports across 11 West African countries in English, Hausa, Igbo, Krio, and Yoruba for the general African public and media ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fact-Checking and Investigative Journalism Services

NAICS

Information (51)

akta.pro primary industry

Piracy Monitoring & Discovery (Web/Social/App Store/UGC Crawling) (MPAHAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Special Education & Accessibility-Optimized Media (UDL, AAC, Captioning) (EDAGALAH)

Keywords

• Fact-checking services
• Media literacy resources
• Investigative journalism
• Misinformation verification
• News verification platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Accra

HQ country

Ghana

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Dubawa is supported by grant funding from foundations and development organizations. The MacArthur Foundation is explicitly mentioned as a supporter of the organization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Dubawa is a fact-checking initiative that investigates and verifies viral claims, public statements, and misinformation circulating in African information ecosystems across politics, health, sports, economy, and security. It produces fact-checks, explainers, media literacy content, and long-form investigative reports in English and African languages (Hausa, Igbo, Krio, Yoruba), distributed freely to the general public via its website and social media channels.

Product overview

Dubawa is a fact-checking platform operated by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), offering a unified suite of fact-checking services across multiple content formats and African languages. The platform provides fact checks, explainers, media literacy resources, and in-depth investigative reports. Content is available in English and multiple African languages (Hausa, Igbo, Krio, Yoruba), with country-specific versions for Ghana and coverage across 11 African nations including Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Senegal, and others. The platform focuses on verifying political claims, health misinformation, sports claims, and AI-generated content using forensic analysis tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fact Checks Primary fact-checking service that investigates and verifies claims made by public figures, media outlets, and social media users across politics, health, sports, economy, and security topics in African countries.
• Explainers In-depth explanatory content that provides context and analysis on complex topics, events, and public issues to help audiences understand nuanced situations.
• Media Literacy Educational resources and content aimed at helping audiences develop skills to critically evaluate information, identify misinformation, and navigate digital media responsibly.
• DUBAWA In-depth Long-form investigative journalism and comprehensive research reports on major issues, including investigations into surrogacy exploitation, Telegram regulatory failures, and similar in-depth topics.
• African Languages Content Fact-checking content and articles published in African languages including Hausa, Igbo, Krio, and Yoruba to reach wider African audiences who do not consume English-language content.
• Facebook Checks Specialized fact-checking service focused specifically on viral content circulating on the Facebook platform, including images, videos, and posts that gain significant traction.
• Country-Specific Platforms (Dubawa Ghana) Localized versions of the Dubawa platform for specific African countries, starting with Dubawa Ghana, providing country-specific fact-checking content and coverage.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PTCIJ (Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDubawa is an initiative of PTCIJ (Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism). PTCIJ is the parent organization that established Dubawa as a fact-checking platform for the African continent.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PolitiFact: PolitiFact is a Pulitzer Prize-winning US fact-checking site and IFCN signatory, comparable in journalistic verification methodology though focused on US political content.
• AFP Fact Check: AFP's global fact-checking network is an IFCN-certified verification operation covering dozens of countries including African markets, with substantially larger staff and resources than Dubawa.
• Full Fact: Full Fact is the UK's leading fact-checking charity, an IFCN signatory with AI-augmented verification tooling, comparable in mission and non-profit structure though serving a different geography.
• Reuters Fact Check: Reuters operates a globally distributed fact-checking unit covering news, politics, and viral content with substantial editorial resources, competing for the same audience attention on African stories.

Regional players

• Maldita.es: Maldita.es is a Spanish fact-checking foundation and IFCN signatory that combines verification with media literacy education, a similar dual mission to Dubawa's fact-checking plus media literacy approach.
• Chequeado: Chequeado is an Argentine fact-checking organization and IFCN signatory with a similar non-profit model focused on Spanish-language verification in Latin America.

Direct peers

• Africa Check: Africa Check is the leading pan-African fact-checking organization, operating across multiple African countries with a similar non-profit, IFCN-certified model targeting misinformation across the continent.
• Premium Times: Premium Times is the parent news organization of Dubawa's parent (PTCIJ), a leading Nigerian investigative journalism outlet that shares the same institutional infrastructure and accountability journalism focus.

Emerging players

• Code for Africa: Code for Africa operates civic technology and investigative journalism initiatives across the continent, including fact-checking and data journalism, sharing similar African multi-country coverage and non-profit funding model.

Others

• International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN): The IFCN is the industry body that certifies Dubawa and coordinates fact-checkers globally, setting the standards and network access that materially shape Dubawa's operations and grant eligibility.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/dubawa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dubawa

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dubawa