In the digital age, social media platforms have become central to accessing and sharing information. With over a billion active users globally, Facebook has revolutionized communication, allowing people to connect across vast distances and enabling the swift spread of information. 

However, along with its benefits, Facebook has become a breeding ground for misinformation, disinformation, and fake news. The platform’s vast reach combined with its algorithm-driven content distribution model, has created a fertile environment for the rapid spread of false or misleading content.

Anyone can be a target or victim of fake news spread through social media as they often spread quickly due to the viral nature of social platforms. The target could be individuals, groups, or organizations. 

Hence the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) developed a technology tool designed for quick fact-checking and verification of published information.

iVerify as it is called, is operated by Local Voices Liberia (LVL) and was handed over in April this year with a strong call to ensure national ownership and sustainability.

The tool was developed under the Liberia Electoral Support Project (LESP+) funded by the European Union, Irish Aid, and Sweden to combat false information and prevent and mitigate its spread.

To determine fake news on social media is not easy, thus it's necessary to develop tools such as iVerify to deter misleading information that could spark conflict within the nation. 

The Executive Director of LVL, Alpha Daffae Senkpeni narrated that it has not been easy to fact-check fake news before iVerify. Senkpeni explained that the tool has revolutionized fact-checking by ensuring speed and accuracy while previously relying on traditional media monitoring, which was challenging.

“We had to manually follow various Facebook pages and newspapers. We assembled a team with a range of fact-checking skills, but with iVerify, we have been fact-checking, verifying videos, countering disinformation, and crucially, explaining complex stories to reveal the truth to the public,” he said.

“The introduction of iVerify in Liberia was grounded in the idea of promoting responsible and factual dissemination of information. The tool provided robust verification and clarification of information during the elections,” said Lien Bach, Chief of Party of USAID Internews Media Activity, currently supporting LVL to sustain the iVerify system.

The system assisted in identifying and addressing issues related to hate speech and misinformation during the 2023 elections. The LVL team utilized iVerify to check and verify information, such as the Facebook post about an NEC pickup truck, images, and videos. The team conducted training for journalists and mobile fact-checkers on the use of the iVerify mechanism.

In preparation for the 2023 Elections in Liberia, some bloggers posted misleading information on Facebook about the National Elections Commission (NEC) pickup truck that was displaying a banner of the then-ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). The blogger posted more information about the NEC truck which was later verified by the LVL using the iVerify tool as disinformation.

This post sparked serious debate and created tension among citizens whose country's peace is fragile as the 2023 general elections were only the second democratic elections without the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Some comments depicted lamentation over this act stating that it is difficult to determine fake news as photos and videos can easily be manipulated.

Commending the design of the tool, the former UNDP Chief Technical Advisor Lenka Homolkova of the Liberia Electoral Support Project (LESP) said, "iVerify was instrumental in addressing the challenges of misinformation and disinformation during the 2023 elections.

“This tool garnered increasing attention in elections and was recognized for contributing to election integrity both in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Content flagged as false by Local Voices was successfully removed from social media platforms, demonstrating the tool's effectiveness.”

Homolkova added that iVerify played a crucial role in combatting false information, as nobody wants to be associated with spreading misinformation. She said the flagged content removal significantly aided the 2023 general elections.

LESP supported Civic and Voter Education (CVE) and communication efforts across the Country and worked closely with Local Voices of Liberia, to increase the impact of fact-checking efforts using the iVerify system to mitigate the negative effect of mis/disinformation. 

Over two hundred claims/incidents were tracked and reported using the system (WhatsApp tipline) to counter dis/misinformation and hate speech and fact-check stories about the electoral process. 

Local Voices fact-checked and published 51 fact-check reports and conducted training for journalists and mobile fact-checkers on the use of the iVerify tool. Local Voices also produced a weekly radio program on OK FM to promote the system and counter election disinformation.

The iVerify tool becomes essential to reveal the truth and help secure public information.  The tool fact-checks and publishes reports through a specific methodology and coordinates responses to false information through a multi-stakeholder approach. 

It monitors social media and identifies disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech through internal means using available tip lines via Facebook and the LVL website. It also includes a feature to perform reverse image and video searches for deepfakes.

The European Union in Liberia’s Governance Team Lead, Anna Brzozowskwa commends UNDP and LVL for the work done in fact-checking and developing the iVerify tool.

Acclaiming the integrity of the tool, the Embassy of Sweden Program Officer for Democracy and Human Rights, Nikolina Stalhand stated that many people around the world are applauding Liberia for successful elections held last year.

“I think it is important to remember that this didn't just happen as an accident. Many people were involved in achieving this and the success of the elections was of course linked to combating misinformation and disinformation,” said Stalhand.

The UNDP Liberia Electoral Support Project (LESP+) is co-funded by the European Union (EU), Irish Aid, the Embassy of Sweden and UNDP. It aims to support the government to strengthen national institutions in promoting a more inclusive, participatory, and accountable democracy in Liberia.