CJID Equips Gambian Student Journalists with Investigative and Fact-Checking Skills

CJID Gaambia 2026 August Training © CJID

By Ajabintou Ceesay

Twenty student journalists from the University of The Gambia (UTG) School of Journalism and Digital Media and the Media Academy for Journalism and Communication (MAJaC) have completed a two-day Campus Reporter Clinic organised by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), aimed at strengthening ethical, investigative and data-driven journalism among young reporters.

Held on 3rd and 4th August 2026 at Bakadaji, the training was supported by UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) and marked the first Campus Reporter Clinic organised by CJID in The Gambia.

Founded in Nigeria in 2014, CJID is a West African media innovation and development think tank that promotes investigative journalism, media innovation, fact-checking and democratic accountability. Since 2020, the organisation has expanded its work across several African countries, including The Gambia.

Speaking at the end of the training, Christiana Longe, CJID's Media Freedom Project Manager, praised the participants' enthusiasm and commitment to learning.

"From my own perspective, I see that the students are willing to learn and improve their skills. Their approach to learning is quite impressive, and I believe what they have learned over the past few days is something they will continue to build on with proper mentoring and guidance, which we are willing to provide," she said.

Longe explained that CJID's support extends beyond the training itself.

"For us, it is not just about training them. We provide editorial guidance for the stories they pitch and also offer platforms where they can publish their work. That is why we provide proper mentorship—to ensure they continue building their skills as journalists," she added.

Participants described the workshop as transformative, saying it broadened their understanding of investigative journalism, data journalism and fact-checking.

Ebrima Mbaye, a fourth-year Journalism and Digital Media student at UTG, said the training had expanded his knowledge of data-driven journalism and investigative reporting.

"It has been an educative two-day training. I have expanded my understanding of data-driven journalism, fact-checking and investigative skills that young journalists like myself can use to improve our work. I look forward to more trainings like this and to applying what I have learnt in my work as a campus reporter," he said.

CJID’s Busola Ajibola © CJID

For Adama Joof, a final-year journalism student at UTG, the training exceeded his expectations.

"I expected to learn about fact-checking, story angling and story ideation, and those expectations have been achieved. Journalism is not only about informing people but also transforming lives. This training has equipped me to tell more engaging stories, verify information and avoid misinformation, disinformation and malinformation, especially as the country approaches elections," he said.

Mrs Joof added that the programme had inspired her to focus on impactful storytelling.

"I am now a trained campus reporter, and I will ensure my storytelling is different by producing engaging stories that give issues a human face. This initiative has great potential to transform student journalism in The Gambia," she said.

Fatou B. Bojang, a journalism student at MAJaC, said the sessions on fact-checking and data journalism were particularly valuable.

"I learned that every piece of information must first be verified before it can be reported and that not every claim online is fact-checkable. Before attending this training, I had no idea about qualitative and quantitative data, but now I understand how important they are in data journalism," she said.

Another participant, Alhagie Omar Jallow, a second-year Journalism student at UTG, said the workshop introduced him to practical digital reporting skills.

"The training enhanced my understanding of journalism and exposed me to data journalism, including how to scrape data from websites, clean datasets and present information in ways that people can easily understand. It also helped me understand the difference between narrative journalism and traditional journalism," he said.

The Campus Reporter Clinic forms part of CJID's efforts to strengthen campus journalism across Africa by equipping student journalists with the skills, mentorship and editorial support needed to produce ethical, evidence-based and impactful reporting.