About Ethiopia Check

Ethiopia Check is a fact-checking desk initially set up in June 2020 and later became part of Internews’ Ethiopia projects in August 2020. Ethiopia Check is currently registered in Kenya and is operating as a fully independent trust organization. It operates in Amharic, Afan Oromo and Tigrinya languages with an estimated reach of more than 7 million people through its social media platforms. It is currently part of the Africa Facts Network and has applied to become an International Fact-Checking Network signatory. Ethiopia Check currently focuses on three main activities:

a. Fact-checking and verification.

b. Media literacy education.

c. Training and capacity building.

a. Fact-checking and verification.

b. Media literacy education.

c. Training and capacity building.

Organizational Structure

Professional Biographies

Elias Meseret

Founder/Editor

Elias Meseret founded Ethiopia Check in June 2020, which later joined Internews’ Ethiopia projects. He is one of the four Trustees of the fact-checking desk and also serves as a desk Editor. Elias has worked with various international media outlets since 2013. He was awarded the 2019 Tana Award for his journalism and fact-checking efforts. From mid-2020 to end of 2021, Elias was a host to “Liyu Mereja,” radio program on Ethio FM Station that focused on mis/disinformation. He was also President of the Ethiopian Mass Media Professionals Association from 2020 to 2021.

Tsion Molla

Program Manager

Tsion Molla joined Ethiopia Check as a Project Manager in December 2022. She has few years of enthusiastic experience leading media development projects. As a Program Manager; she currently develops projects, monitors their implementation, and handles donor relations.

Alexander Yohannes

Project Coordinator

Alexander Yohannes is a project coordinator with years of experience managing human rights and media development projects. As a project coordinator at Ethiopia Check, he currently handles coordination for the program manager and team members to keep the projects running smoothly. This includes Executing a range of activities, managing deadlines and workflow, and coordinating events, organizing meetings and appointments.

Addisu Frew

Fact-checking Analyst

Addisu joined Ethiopia Check in 2020, and works as a fact-checking analyst. He is one of the four Trustees of the fact-checking desk. He has a background in digital journalism with experience in both industry and academia.

Habtamu Tibebu

Fact-checker

Habtamu Tibebu is a storyteller and fact checker. He joined Ethiopia Check as freelance fact checker in 2021. He has also worked with different media outlets as a journalist and has produced a number of stories both for radio and online. He has experience in fact checking and providing fact checking and verification training.

EC legal status

Ethiopia Check is a legally registered non- profit fact-checking organization. It is registered as a Trust Organization in Kenya with the file number 2252/D7/3174/MMXXII at the Republic of Kenya Registry of Documents, Nairobi.

Policy of non-partisanship

As an independent and professional fact-checking organization, Ethiopia Check is committed to adhere to high standards of non-partisanship. For this to materialize, team members are properly trained on this policy upon joining the desk. The desk it is committed to execute these:
• Team members cannot support and/or campaign for any political party
• Team members cannot use company equipment/resources to support the causes of any political party or group
• Soliciting funds/money to conduct a fact-check for a certain political entity or individual is strictly forbidden
• Employees are not allowed to participate in political rallies or events in support of a certain political party or group.
• Personal opinions/biases cannot be a part of a fact-checking work
Note: Employees that violate these policies will be subjected to a fair scrutiny and then appropriate measures will be taken if found to be in violation.

Funding detail

Ethiopia Check is a Trust Organization registered in Kenya. It has been part of Internews’ Ethiopia projects from August 2020- November 2022, but is now independent as of December 1, 2022. As of December 2022, the desk has received a sub-award grant from Internews that will continue funding its activities (fact-checking, training, workshops etc) until the end of March 2023. There is no other source of funding for Ethiopia Check until the submission of this application.