Gbarnga — Super Bongese Radio Senior Reporter Nukanah Kollie, has been selected as one of the fellows for the prestigious 2026 Kwame Karikari Fact-Checking and Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Fellowship organized by DUBAWA.
The fellowship, now in its eighth year, is one of West Africa's leading media and verification training programs aimed at strengthening fact-checking, accountability journalism, and the fight against misinformation across the region. Named in honor of renowned Ghanaian media scholar and press freedom advocate Kwame Karikari, the initiative continues to equip journalists and media practitioners with advanced verification, investigative, and digital intelligence skills necessary for today's rapidly evolving information environment.
Kollie's selection followed a highly competitive regional process involving applications, interviews, evaluations, and intensive training sessions. Thirteen (13) journalists from Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Ghana, and Nigeria were finally selected from a shortlist of 25 journalists across the region.
The fellowship training phase officially began on Wednesday, May 6, and concluded on Friday, May 8, 2026, with participants undergoing an intensive three-day capacity-building program focused on fact-checking, verification methodologies, media literacy, ethical journalism, investigative reporting, and digital verification tools.
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The fellowship itself will run for three months, from June 1 to August 31, 2026, during which fellows will engage in mentorship sessions, produce fact-checks and OSINT investigations, and contribute to strengthening credible information ecosystems across West Africa.
According to DUBAWA, the training brought together journalists from different media institutions across the region to strengthen information integrity and sanitize the digital information ecosystem. Participants engaged in practical sessions focused on combating misinformation, disinformation, and manipulation in both traditional and digital media spaces.
The training also emphasized the growing importance of Open-Source Intelligence techniques in modern journalism. Fellows were exposed to practical OSINT tools and investigative approaches used to trace digital footprints, verify user-generated content, authenticate online information, and uncover coordinated disinformation campaigns across digital platforms.
The selection of Nukanah Kollie marks another significant achievement for Liberian journalism and highlights the increasing role of young Liberian reporters in advancing credible and evidence-based reporting. As a senior reporter at Super Bongese Radio, Kollie has consistently reported on human rights, development, agriculture, governance, youth issues, and community-centered issues affecting ordinary Liberians.
Over the years, Kollie has built a growing reputation in community-centered and development journalism in Liberia. His reporting has focused on human rights, agriculture, governance, youth empowerment, accountability, environmental issues, and rural development. He has also participated in many media development, investigative journalism, and international reporting trainings while contributing stories to both local and international media platforms.
Kollie's selection further reflects his growing contributions to Liberian journalism, having received recognition for his reporting on human rights, rural development, gender issues, and community affairs. In 2022, he was honored with the Gender Reporter of the Year Award by the Association of Liberia Community Radios for his impactful reporting on gender and social justice issues in Liberia.
In addition to his reporting achievements, Kollie participated in the 2024 edition of the African Investigative Journalism Conference held in Johannesburg through financial support provided by the Embassy of Sweden in partnership with New Narratives. He also participated in an intensive investigative agriculture and development journalism training program in Nairobi in 2025, aimed at strengthening specialized reporting on food systems, climate change, rural livelihoods, and agricultural innovation across Africa and the world respectively.
Kollie is additionally a recipient of the prestigious International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and Alltech Young Leaders Award in Kenya, a recognition that supports emerging agricultural journalists worldwide and promotes excellence in development and rural reporting.
However, speaking on the importance of the fellowship, media experts have noted that misinformation and manipulated content continue to pose major threats to democratic governance, public trust, public health communication, and national security across Africa. Fact-checking and investigative journalism therefore remain critical tools in protecting the integrity of public discourse.
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The fellowship organizers noted that beyond technical training, the program promotes ethical and responsible journalism, recognizing fact-checking as a public service that safeguards vulnerable communities from harmful misinformation. A recent study cited by DUBAWA also revealed that the annual fellowship has significantly improved participants' investigative and verification capacities while strengthening local fact-checking ecosystems throughout West Africa.
For Nukanah Kollie, the opportunity presents a platform to further enhance investigative journalism skills while contributing to the broader regional effort aimed at promoting truth, accountability, transparency, and information integrity.
The fellowship is expected to empower participants with practical digital investigative skills that can support deeper reporting on corruption, conflict, human rights violations, misinformation networks, and public interest issues affecting communities across West Africa.
The inclusion of a Liberian journalist in the 2026 fellowship cohort also reflects the growing recognition of Liberia's emerging media professionals within regional journalism, investigative reporting, and fact-checking initiatives across the African continent.
