AFP wins top prize at Africa Fact Check Awards
AFP digital investigation reporter Samad Uthman won the coveted “Fact Check of the Year” award in the professional fact-checker category at the Africa Facts Summit, held in Dakar on October 1-2.
Uthman, who is based in Abuja, Nigeria, received the prize for his story about artificial intelligence being used to impersonate a Nigerian scientist and advertise a baseless “miracle cure” for heart disease.
“The win is a testament to the effort we make at combating misinformation – at a time when AI-generated disinformation is moving faster and faster,” said Uthman, who joined AFP’s digital investigations team in 2024.
The impact of artificial intelligence was one of the key themes of the 2025 edition of the Africa Facts Summit, which brought together fact-checkers and information integrity experts from across the continent.
This is the second time AFP reporters have won the top prize. In 2023, Mary Kulundu and James Okong’o, both from Nairobi, won the prize for a joint story.
AFP journalists also won silver in 2022 and 2024.
For more information, see Africa Check’s website.
From left to right: Monique Mgo Mayag, digital investigation journalist based in AFP’s Dakar bureau, Samad Uthman, Patrick Markey, editor in chief Africa.