At a time when information reliability and media empowerment become increasingly important in Ivory Coast, Ivoire Check was awarded Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) certification. The certification will be officially presented on Saturday 9 May 2026 in Grand-Bassam during the Ordinary General Election Meeting (AGOE) of the Réseau des Professionnels de la Presse en Ligne de Côte d’Ivoire (REPPRELCI).
“Ivoire Check’s certification demonstrates that it is possible to build trust in news by relying on concrete commitments to transparency and editorial accountability. It sends a strong signal to the Ivorian media landscape and to all media organisations committed to producing reliable news.”
Benjamin Sabbah, Director of Journalism Trust Initiative, Reporters Without Borders
“For REPPRELCI, this international recognition demonstrates that African media can fully meet the highest standards of credibility and editorial governance. It also reinforces our ambition to make Ivoire Check a trusted regional benchmark for information and the promotion of a more responsible digital space. ”
Mamadou Traoré, Vice-President of the REPPRELCI
Committing to transparency and reliability of information
Ivory Coast ranks 54th in Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2026 edition of its World Press Freedom Index, an improvement compared to the previous year. However, whilst this development reflects some progress, the state of press freedom in the country remains “problematic”. Various forms of pressure and threats continue to weigh on the press, particularly investigative media and journalists, in an attempt to stifle their investigations.
Economically, numerous challenges continue to hamper the work of the Ivorian media. “Limited financial resources are a major obstacle to the professionalisation and sustainability of operations” says Mamadou Traoré.
In light of this situation, Ivory Coast has recently made encouraging commitments towards press freedom. The country has recently endorsed the Dakar Declaration initiated by RSF, which promotes the right to information and recognises the JTI as standard for reliable sources. The certification of Ivoire Check is thus part of a broader drive to strengthen the structure and credibility of the Ivorian media landscape.
“JTI certification represents a major step forward for the digital media ecosystem in Ivory Coast. It marks a collective commitment to journalism based on rigour, transparency, ethics and fact-checking, in a global context characterised by disinformation and the proliferation of manipulated content.”
Mamadou Traoré, Vice-President of the REPPRELCI
As a media organisation specialising in fact-checking and already committed to combating disinformation, the journey towards JTI certification allowed Ivoire Check to enhance its transparency and the formalisation of its practices. “Our main challenge was to formalise practices that were already in place but poorly documented. We have adopted an editorial charter and a code of ethics, clarified roles within the team and strengthened our rigour in handling information,” explains Mamadou Traoré.
Elevating standards of news media
JTI was developed in 2019 as an ISO-type international standard by roughly 130 experts from media outlets, media regulatory bodies, media associations and digital platforms. They worked to define the criteria of transparency, independence and ethics necessary for an industry standard applicable to all types of news sources. The idea of designing a self-regulatory mechanism applicable to all news sources worldwide was the initiative of the Paris-headquartered media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
The JTI certification process has three stages. First, the introduction to the standard via JTI’s portal. Second, the self-evaluation by the media. Finally, as an option, the certifying audit. More than 2,450 media outlets in 131 countries use JTI. 1,460 are currently undergoing self-assessment, 860 published their transparency report, and 140 obtained JTI certification following an audit.
In Ivory Coast, around 40 media outlets are currently involved in the JTI process. Among them, the daily newspaper L’Intelligent d’Abidjan and the local radio station Gbêkê FM have also been awarded certification. Across the continent, more than 800 media outlets in sub-Saharan Africa are currently participating in the JTI process, and around 20 of them have so far obtained their certification, including, most recently, the newspaper The Capri Vision in Namibia and La Voix du Centre in Cameroon.
