The Thomson Reuters Foundation announced that it would be launching a Coronavirus Crisis Reporting Hub – a virtual training, knowledge-sharing and network-building centre for journalists covering the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Hub will initially bring together reporters from English-speaking African nations and focus on facilitating access to accurate and trusted information.

The initiative will be comprised of three main components, said the corporate foundation of the news and information company, Reuters: live-training sessions for core skills such as crisis reporting, health reporting, economics reporting, fact-checking, data analysis and data visualisation; connecting the cohort of journalists with key health experts; and providing a space for journalists in countries where the crisis is most prevalent to connect and share professional insights.

The Crisis Reporting Hub, launched in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, will also connect journalists with the organisations at the heart of the emergency response, including the World Health Organization and the African Centre for Disease Controls.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation hope this initiative will go a long way towards halting the spread of misinformation during this crisis.

‘All corners of the world are being decimated by this crisis. We do not stand a chance of fighting it if accurate information-sharing remains our ‘Achilles’ heel’. Scaling world-class, reliable and independent reporting has never been more vital. The stability of our nations depends upon it. Millions of lives depend upon it,’ said Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Adrian Monck, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, commented: ‘Nothing in the world today is more important than our common fight against COVID-19, and that fight starts with spreading accurate and up-to-date information and insights. We’re honoured to support the Coronavirus Crisis Reporting Hub, and its first cohort of journalists from across Africa. Their societies can still prevent a dramatic outbreak, and their journalism is at the core of that effort.’

The Reuters Foundation hopes to eventually expand the Reporting Hub to other African nations, and then to Latin America and India.