Do you want to strengthen information integrity in Southern Africa?
Code for Africa (CfA) is offering four Media Sentinel Fellowships to frontline grassroots researchers with expertise in social media listening and analysis and with a good knowledge of social media cross-platform coordination and messaging on platforms such as Facebook, Telegram, WhatsApp, and X (formerly Twitter).
The six-month part-time fellowships are part of a joint initiative between CfA and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen information integrity by detecting, disrupting, and deplatforming malign actors in Southern Africa.
The programme aims to protect inclusive democracy and human rights in the digital age by leveraging digital technologies, with an emphasis on climate and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) issues in the following Southern African countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
The successful candidates will work with CfA’s forensic investigations team, iLAB, to provide information that will guide the creation of early warning alerts for information manipulation. The Media Sentinels will provide information on coordinated inauthentic behaviour (CIB) and other information manipulation and interference (IMI) behaviour within their countries.
A team of international experts from iLAB will train and mentor the fellows to analyse data from an ongoing threat actor mapping that partner organisations have developed as part of the project.
The fellowship package will consist of:
- Stipend: Fellows will receive a competitive monthly stipend depending on their influence as macro or nano influencers and experience in similar previous projects.
- Training and mentoring: CfA will provide the fellows with advanced training and mentoring in traditional and social media monitoring.
Are you eligible?
The fellowships will enable individuals to use their social media and analytics skills in conjunction with CfA’s watchlists and lexicons, for proactive pre-grouping and communication of early warning signals for early detection of toxic online content.
Therefore, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- You must be non-partisan, without any link to government agencies, paramilitary organisations, political parties, state-affiliated media, or other bodies that might create the perception of partisanship in either national or local politics.
- You must be fluent in English or French.
- You must have access to a reliable personal laptop or computer with stable internet connectivity to participate in programme activities, online classes, and mentorship sessions.
- You must demonstrate an understanding of using social media platforms such as Facebook, Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, and X.
- You must be available for weekly one-hour virtual meetings.
The deadline for applications is 07 May 2025.
To apply, complete this form.
Questions? Reach out to mitchelle.awuor@codeforafrica.org or jacktone.momanyi@codeforafrica.org.
About the partners:
Code for Africa is Africa’s largest civic technology and open data incubator. The organisation supports digital democracy and investigative data journalism initiatives to give citizens access to actionable information and amplify citizen voices to make society more responsive and accountable. CfA’s mission is to leverage technology and data to foster digital democracies and empower citizens by providing actionable information.
The African Digital Democracy Observatory (ADDO) is the only continent-wide research coalition focused on understanding how disinformation and influence or information operations are being used to subvert African democracies or watchdog institutions. The initiative is member-driven, consisting of 15 organisations that run substantive Africa-focused analytical research or investigations. Find out more about ADDO’s activities and members here.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway (Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is the governmental body responsible for Norway’s foreign policy. It is structured into nine departments and oversees nearly 100 diplomatic missions worldwide, including embassies, permanent delegations, and consulates general. Among its key responsibilities is promoting human rights and democratic principles.
To all recruitment agencies: CfA does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our employment application line, CfA employees or any other CfA contact. CfA is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
Please note: Due to high volumes of applications, we are unable to respond to each one individually. If you are selected for an interview, we will contact you.