DAKAR. Ariel Gbaguidi, a journalist from Benin’s La Nation, won the award for fact-check of the year by a working journalist at the African Fact-Checking Awards ceremony held in Senegal on 2 October 2025.
His article meticulously debunked viral rumours that began on social media following a July 2024 speech by Burkina Faso president Ibrahim Traoré. During his speech, Traoré accused Benin of trying to destabilise his country from Kandi and Porga — two towns in the northwest of Benin, on the border with Burkina Faso. Gbaguidi’s investigation revealed that photos claiming to show a military base in Porga were not linked to Benin, and that a video actually showed the arrival of rhinos in Chad’s Zakouma National Park. Gbaguidi’s article also revealed that the claim that Porga serves as a supply site for terrorist groups was not based on any factual evidence.
"This is a state publicly accusing another neighbouring state of wanting to destabilise it. This has provoked strong reactions in both countries. This statement by the president and the images that have been circulated are all the more serious because they could provoke a popular uprising or even an armed conflict between the two countries," Gbaguidi said.
Runner-up in this category was Fana Cissé, from Ouestaf News, who fact-checked Minister of Urban Planning Moussa Bala Fofana’s claim that people in Senegal spend at least 54% of their income on rent.
Samad Uthman won...
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