Liberian Journalist Nukanah Kollie Selected for 2026 Regional Fact-Checking Fellowship

Liberian journalist and Senior Reporter at Super Bongese Radio, Nukanah Kollie, has been selected for the 2026 Kwame Karikari Fact-Checking and Open-Source Intelligence Fellowship, organized by DUBAWA.

The fellowship is one of West Africa’s respected media training programs. It focuses on fact-checking, accountability journalism, digital verification, and the fight against false information.

Named after respected Ghanaian media scholar and press freedom advocate Kwame Karikari, the program helps journalists build strong skills in investigation, verification, and the use of digital tools.

Kollie was selected after a competitive regional process that included applications, interviews, reviews, and training. He is among 13 journalists chosen from Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Ghana, and Nigeria. The final fellows were selected from a shortlist of 25 journalists across West Africa.

The training part of the fellowship began on Wednesday, May 6, and ended on Friday, May 8, 2026. During the three-day training, participants learned about fact-checking, media literacy, ethical journalism, investigative reporting, and digital verification tools.

The full fellowship will run for three months, from June 1 to August 31, 2026. During this time, fellows will take part in mentorship sessions, produce fact-check reports, carry out OSINT investigations, and support efforts to promote accurate information across the region.

According to DUBAWA, the training brought together journalists from different media institutions to help strengthen information integrity and reduce the spread of misinformation in both traditional and online media.

The program also focused on Open-Source Intelligence, known as OSINT. Fellows were introduced to tools and methods used to track digital information, verify online content, check user-generated materials, and expose false or misleading campaigns on digital platforms.

Kollie’s selection is seen as another important achievement for Liberian journalism. It also shows the growing role of young Liberian reporters in promoting truthful, responsible, and evidence-based reporting.

As a senior reporter at Super Bongese Radio, Kollie has reported on human rights, development, agriculture, governance, youth issues, and community matters affecting ordinary Liberians.

Over the years, he has built a strong record in community and development journalism. His work has focused on human rights, agriculture, accountability, environmental issues, gender, rural development, and youth empowerment.

In 2022, Kollie was named Gender Reporter of the Year by the Association of Liberia Community Radios for his reporting on gender and social justice issues.

He also participated in the 2024 African Investigative Journalism Conference in Johannesburg, with support from the Embassy of Sweden in partnership with New Narratives. In 2025, he took part in an investigative agriculture and development journalism training program in Nairobi.

Kollie is also a recipient of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and Alltech Young Leaders Award in Kenya, which recognizes young agricultural journalists from around the world.

Media experts say the fellowship is important because misinformation and fake content continue to affect democracy, public trust, public health, and national security across Africa. They noted that fact-checking and investigative journalism are key tools in protecting the public from harmful information.

For Kollie, the fellowship offers another opportunity to improve his investigative journalism skills and contribute to the fight for truth, transparency, and accountability in West Africa.

The inclusion of a Liberian journalist in the 2026 fellowship also highlights the growing recognition of Liberia’s young media professionals in regional journalism and fact-checking programs.