Abideen Olasupo, the visionary founder of FactCheck Africa, a nonprofit platform dedicated to combating misinformation, has been selected for the prestigious 2025 AI Journalism Lab Leadership Cohort. The programme is hosted by the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY) in partnership with Microsoft.
This groundbreaking initiative assembles influential journalists, media executives, technologists, and thought leaders from around the globe to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and the future of journalism. According to a statement on the CUNY website, the selected participants are trailblazers committed to leveraging technology to shape the media landscape positively.
The cohort includes 23 participants representing countries such as Brazil, Germany, India, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, the United States, and more. Their expertise spans newsroom leadership, editorial strategy, audience engagement, and AI-driven product innovation. The programme, which runs virtually from January to April 2025, commenced with an in-person two-day session in New York.
Olasupo, currently in New York, joins this elite group to delve into cutting-edge AI technologies transforming journalism. Through the programme, he will deepen his understanding of AI-powered tools that enhance journalistic accuracy, streamline fact-checking processes, and combat the growing challenges of misinformation, deepfakes, and algorithmic bias.
In April 2024, Olasupo’s organisation, FactCheck Africa, launched MyAIFactChecker, the continent’s first AI-powered fact-checking platform. The innovative tool allows users to verify news, social media posts, and other content in multiple languages, including English, Swahili, French, and Arabic. This platform aims to address Africa’s misinformation crisis by providing rapid, accurate verification tools for diverse audiences.
Additionally, FactCheck Africa has spearheaded various initiatives to integrate AI into journalism across the continent. In 2024, it introduced a three-month AI Journalism Fellowship designed to equip journalists in West Africa with the skills and ethical considerations necessary for navigating AI tools in media workflows. The organisation also developed an AI toolkit featuring a database of tools and frameworks for newsroom adoption and led a community of practice focused on AI’s role in elections and media.
To promote media literacy among younger audiences, FactCheck Africa recently launched a flashcard-based gamification tool aimed at simplifying fact-checking for children and raising a generation of information integrity ambassadors.
Speaking about his selection, Olasupo expressed gratitude for the opportunity to collaborate with global media leaders. He noted that the programme aligns perfectly with FactCheck Africa’s mission to improve media literacy, foster critical thinking, and provide reliable fact-checking services across Africa.
“This experience will not only strengthen our work at FactCheck Africa but also enable me to share insights and skills with colleagues across Africa to drive positive change in the media industry globally,” Olasupo said.
The 2025 AI Journalism Lab Leadership Cohort underscores Olasupo’s contributions to advancing fact-checking and digital journalism in Africa, cementing his role as a leading voice in the fight against misinformation on the continent and beyond.
