Sierra Leone's iVerify team handles 265 fact-checking requests

An evaluation for UNDP found that Sierra Leone's iVerify team processed 265 fact-checking requests around the 2023 elections. The evaluator does not mention AI.

  • 2 society

    The iVerify team processed 265 fact-checking requests during a tense election, though no effect on public discourse is measured.

Depth runs from 1, a convenience or time saved, to 5, a life or a livelihood preserved.

Status
Reported benefit.
Evidence

foundstudiedreportedclaimed

Only the evaluators support the benefit.

The system’s part
Not isolated. The evaluator does not mention artificial intelligence and credits the fact-checks to trained media professionals. UNDP's evaluation office calls iVerify AI-powered, and UNDP describes automated screening with the Detoxify machine-learning model. No document shows that this screening ran in Sierra Leone or how many of the 265 requests came from it.
Limits
Not yet checked.
Costs and harms
Not yet checked.
Later
Not yet checked.

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Benefit type
Improved Knowledge Discovery
System
iVerify (UNDP fact-checking platform)
Made by
UNDP (Chief Digital Office and the Brussels-based Task Force on Electoral Assistance)
Used by
Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, Independent Radio Network and BBC Media Action, with UNDP's elections project
Where
Sierra Leone
Stage
In a pilot
Date
Kind
Program
Broad benefit
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Processing Information
Collections
Scrutiny and findings
Last revised
31 October 2026

Sources

  1. Evaluation report, by an evaluator that the makers or users commissioned.

    Robertson, L. Evaluation of Electoral Assistance Project 'Fostering Peaceful, Credible and Inclusive Elections in Sierra Leone 2022-2023'. Independent evaluation commissioned by the UNDP Sierra Leone Country Office, June 2024. Published in the UNDP and UN Evaluation Group repositories.

    The innovative iVerify digital tool was used by trained media professionals to proactively identify, monitor, fact-check and respond to misinformation, disinformation and hate speech during the elections process and afterwards. The iVerify team processed 265 fact-checking requests that supported a fact-based public discourse across the country during tense political competition around the elections.

  2. Evaluation report, by authors with no tie to the system. Context or contrary evidence.

    UNDP Independent Evaluation Office. Evaluation of the UNDP Support to Digitalization of Public Services. November 2023. The report is an independent publication of the office. Section on electoral support.

    iVerify and eMonitor+ are two powerful digital AI-powered fact-checking tools specifically designed to combat the spread of false information.

  3. Assessment report, by the makers. Context or contrary evidence.

    European Union Election Observation Mission Sierra Leone 2023, Final Report: General Elections 24 June 2023, published by the EEAS on 10 October 2023, section XII (Social media and digital rights).

    The first national fact-checking initiative, iVerify, was established just before the elections. It effectively debunked many false stories before, during and after the elections, helping voters to navigate the pre-election information environment.

  4. Press release, by the makers. Context or contrary evidence.

    UNDP Chief Digital Office. AI-powered fact-checking tool iVerify, piloted during Zambia election, shows global promise. Story, 17 November 2021 (archived copy).

    iVerify also automatically reviews articles in Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit daily, running them through Detoxify, an open-source algorithm which uses machine learning to detect hate speech.

Details

AI system

Workflow

Trained media professionals from three media organizations used iVerify. The team identified, monitored, fact-checked and responded to false information and hate speech during and after the elections. UNDP's elections project brought the platform and paid for an iVerify specialist.

Follow-up

Conditions for replication

Media organizations must have staff trained to verify claims. The platform needs funding after the elections to keep running.

Entry details

Sector

Electoral integrity / fact-checking.

Purpose

UNDP built iVerify to help national organizations identify false information and hate speech and prevent their spread.

Not yet checked: model, release, provider, role, configuration, inputs and outputs, autonomy, human oversight, AI contribution, beneficiaries, reach, distribution and access, duration, every measurement question, every money question, ownership and control, dependencies, cross-border connections, geopolitical implications, replication attempts, availability, institutional decision, grounds, action and result, success criterion, every evidence question, observed or intended, alternative assessments, related entries, other identifiers, category mappings.

Cite this record

Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). Sierra Leone's iVerify team handles 265 fact-checking requests (AIBD-0701). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 31 October 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-0701.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 4.0)

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