DCN Africa Launch: Meeting Gifty Tracy Aminu, Ghana’s Digital Journalist and Fact-Checker

The featured image used in this blog of me and Gifty Tracy Aminu was taken at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Zambia after the first day of the DCN Africa Launch, a renowned Ghanaian digital journalist working in fact-checking. I will tell you more in a bit.

When I received a letter from the Zambia immigration department stating that my E Visa application was granted and I was to come to Zambia for the launch of DCN Africa, I adhered to the advice of the DCN Team members that we should network with other speakers and attendees ahead of the meet in Zambia.

I have always loved Ghana and the Ghanaian people. I do so because of one of Africa’s greatest leaders, Kwame Nkrumah, who came from there, and lastly for their Banku food. So I have always wanted to meet with people from Ghana. Meeting Gifty Tracy Aminu in Zambia was a fulfilment of that desire.

Born and growing up in Sierra Leone, I have always loved to read books by or dedicated to African revolutionary leaders. Among the many books I have read are “Long Walk To Freedom” by Nelson Mandela and “Africa Must Unite” by Kwame Nkrumah. They are among my favorite African leaders in the world.

In 2019, when I visited Ghana for the first time, and it was also my first time seeing an airplane as a passenger, I had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Kwame Nkrumah. I was there in Ghana during my 5-day stay for a VISA application to South Africa.

For Gifty Tracy Aminu, she has never physically been to Sierra Leone to experience our culture, but she knows Sierra Leoneans are welcoming and accommodating, judging from how she related with me during our two-day stay in Zambia for the DCN Africa Launch. “I have not been physically there to experience the culture, but I know Sierra Leoneans are welcoming and accommodating, judging from how you relate with me,” she told me.

Gifty Tracy Aminu, like me, found the DCN Africa launch to be a great event that connected us with people from diverse backgrounds. Tracy and I had the opportunity to meet with attendees from over 40 countries.

“My best experience was with the people I met. I have established important and meaningful relationships with people that may last me a lifetime,” she stated.

At the DCN Africa Launch, Gifty Tracy Aminu participated in a panel discussion on Fact Checking in Africa. In a Twitter post, she said, “Over the week, I joined a group of panelists in Zambia to discuss the threat of dis/misinformation, the importance of fact-checking in Africa, and what we do @GhanaFact and @FactspaceWA during the launch of @DCNGlobalNet Africa Chapter.”

Gifty Tracy Aminu is a digital journalist working in fact-checking and efforts to tackle disinformation across West Africa. She has built a portfolio of work in health and election coverage in Ghana, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.

With a background in mainstream journalism, having worked with the State Broadcaster, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), and Citi FM/TV, a leading private media organization in Ghana, Tracy has built experience working in radio and television reporting.

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