Call for Applications: #AFFCameroon Fellowship – Season 2, Cohort I, 2026

The #AFFCameroon Fellowship – Season 2, Cohort I, 2026 is inviting journalists, researchers, civic tech actors, digital rights defenders, community leaders, final-year students and other eligible applicants in Cameroon to apply for a three-month fellowship focused on fact-checking, information integrity, OSINT, FIMI monitoring, election-related disinformation and AI-enabled digital threats. Successful fellows will receive training, mentorship, a stipend and practical experience in information verification. Applications close August 22, 2026.

Background & Job Description

The Africa Fact-Checking Fellowship Cameroon (#AFFCameroon) is a fellowship initiative of r0g_agency and Civic Watch under the Protecting Civic Space Online and Offline: Countering Hate, Discrimination and Media Repression project.

The programme is designed to strengthen Cameroon’s information ecosystem by developing a network of trained fact-checkers and information integrity defenders. It responds to growing challenges involving misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, AI-generated manipulation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).

The fellowship will train selected participants for three months, after which fellows will work on defined thematic areas including FIMI monitoring and analysis, information verification, community fact-checking, AI-related threats and election information integrity.

The programme is particularly relevant for people interested in journalism, digital rights, research, civic engagement, OSINT and combating harmful online information.

Tasks

Selected fellows will participate in training and mentorship while working on practical information-integrity activities.

FIMI Monitoring and Analysis

Fellows may:

Monitor foreign and domestic influence operations affecting public discourse.
Detect coordinated inauthentic behaviour across digital platforms.
Track propaganda narratives, troll activity, bot amplification and influence networks.
Analyse narratives affecting electoral and civic processes.

Information Integrity and Verification

Participants will learn and apply fact-checking and verification methods to:

Identify misinformation, disinformation and malinformation trends.
Conduct claim verification using OSINT methodologies.
Produce evidence-based fact-checking reports.
Support narrative correction and public awareness.

Community Fact-Checking

The fellowship also focuses on community-level information verification. Activities can include working with local leaders, youth groups, media organisations and civil society actors, while verifying viral claims and rumours circulating through platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok.

The programme also promotes multilingual fact-checking in English, French, Pidgin and local languages where possible.

AI and Emerging Digital Threats

Fellows will explore emerging information threats, including AI-generated synthetic media, deepfakes, cloned audio and manipulated visuals.

They will also learn about responsible use of AI-assisted verification tools, algorithmic amplification and AI hallucinations, alongside preventive approaches such as pre-bunking.

Elections Integrity Monitoring

Another important area involves election-related information. Fellows may monitor false claims, hate speech and manipulative narratives, verify political and electoral content, and contribute to rapid-response verification efforts.

Fellows are expected to participate fully in training and mentorship, produce verification outputs, monitor assigned platforms and communities, submit alerts about emerging threats, contribute to election monitoring and uphold editorial ethics, neutrality, transparency and political impartiality.

Qualifications

Education and Certification

The fellowship is open to a range of emerging and experienced information-integrity practitioners. Eligible profiles include:

Journalists and media educators
Bloggers and content creators
Civic technology actors
Digital and human rights defenders
Researchers and OSINT practitioners
Community leaders and youth advocates
Final-year students
Election observers
Legal practitioners

Applicants must be resident in Cameroon’s Northwest, West, Southwest, Littoral or Centre regions.

Candidates must also demonstrate a strong interest in fact-checking and digital rights, possess basic digital literacy, accept diversity, remain politically impartial, be active online or within communities, demonstrate commitment to ethical information sharing and be available for the entire fellowship.

Experience

Preferred skills include:

Fact-checking and verification experience
OSINT skills
Research and analytical abilities
Social media monitoring
Writing and communication
Basic AI literacy

Previous published fact-checking work is useful, but applicants without published fact-checks can provide other evidence demonstrating strong research, verification or analytical capabilities.

Additional Information

The fellowship lasts three months and combines blended learning with field deployment. Fellows will receive technical supervision from programme trainers and specialists in areas including OSINT, FIMI monitoring, AI and data verification.

Fellowship Benefits

According to the announcement, fellows can:

Gain practical experience in information verification and fact-checking.
Join a national network of emerging fact-checkers.
Develop knowledge for responding to election-related information threats.
Gain exposure to platforms that can publish their fact-checking work.
Access future opportunities in the fact-checking field.

Successful fellows are expected to produce deliverables such as verified fact-checking reports, weekly misinformation and FIMI trend briefs, community verification alerts, election misinformation monitoring reports, AI-threat case studies and public media-literacy content.

Application Requirements

Applicants should prepare:

Curriculum Vitae (CV) highlighting relevant qualifications and experience.
Evidence of previous fact-checking or verification work, where available.
A Fact-Checking Project Pitch of no more than 300 words.
One recommendation letter, which is optional but considered an added value.

The project pitch should identify an information challenge affecting Cameroon or the applicant’s community, explain why it matters, describe how it would be investigated and verified, and outline its expected public value.

Deadline and Application

Completed applications must be submitted by August 22, 2026 at 23:59 WAT.

Applications should be sent to info@civicwatch.cm or cameroon@defyhatenow.org with the subject line:

Application AFFCameroon_Your Name_2026

Successful candidates will be contracted by Civic Watch for three months and will receive a monthly/quarterly stipend and other necessary logistics during the fellowship period.

This opportunity is particularly suited to emerging journalists, researchers, OSINT practitioners, civic activists and final-year students who want practical experience in fact-checking, digital rights, AI-generated misinformation, FIMI monitoring and election information integrity.

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