Have you ever thought about how much misleading content you come across daily on your social media feeds? Spoiler alert: It’s a lot. Even when users carefully clean up their feeds and unfollow suspicious pages, misinformation and fakes still find their way through.

At Legit.ng, we decided not just to warn people about the problem but to actively do something about it.

Social media platforms are vibrant, noisy spaces demanding a huge share of our attention. They bring together users of all ages, but young people remain the most sought-after audience.

Africa, being one of the youngest continents in terms of demographics, is where this challenge is especially critical.

Our approach was simple: Rather than endlessly lecturing people about being cautious with what they consume online, we wanted to create content people could both learn from and laugh at.

In 2023, our Nigerian media outlet launched its first media literacy campaign. We invited top celebrities to join us in busting fake news.

That effort worked, but this year, Legit.ng decided to push even further. Our team produced a series of six short videos designed to give users practical, proven tips on how to spot and stop misinformation quickly and effectively — without extra tools and search. Two of these videos were developed in collaboration with Africa’s leading fact-checking organisations, Africa Check and Dubawa.org.

Our idea was to design what we called a “cup-of-coffee long” course — short, engaging, and credible content that could deliver complex knowledge in an entertaining format. To deepen the learning experience, we built a free fact-checking course page where users can take a quiz based on the videos and then generate a Legit.ng-issued certificate to confirm their knowledge of fact-checking fundamentals.

Key takeaways from our journey

Edutainment works best.

There is no shortage of fact-checking materials online, but most of them are academic in tone, require extra effort, and often feel like homework. Our goal was to meet people where they feel comfortable, and not preach to them.

By showing real-life situations and breaking down common threats — from AI-generated scams to old-school conspiracy theories — our team spoke the same language as our audience.

Practical tips win attention.

People’s attention spans are limited. Instead of overwhelming them with theory, we shared easy, ready-to-use advice: pause before sharing, check how the information makes you feel, and be skeptical of stories that seem too perfect or sensational.

Lies travel fast, so our tools had to be even faster. We wanted users to walk away with content that felt immediately useful in their daily digital lives.

High-quality interaction builds trust.

Media literacy campaigns aren’t just about education — they’re also about connecting with audiences on a deeper level. Our aim was to create a project that inspired and informed, but without consuming too much time.

When people feel respected and not lectured, they’re more open to absorbing important lessons.

Short and engaging content is king.

No matter how valuable content may be, users are more likely to engage with it if it’s short, visually appealing, and easy to digest. Cutting our videos into compact, bite-sized pieces was key to the campaign’s success.

Educational campaigns strengthen brand reputation.

A successful campaign not only earns positive feedback but also highlights a media brand’s expertise and innovation. Legit.ng is already a well-known Nigerian outlet, but projects like this allow us to transform, experiment with new formats, and surprise our audience with creative approaches they may not expect.

Collaboration broadens impact.

Working with leading pan-African fact-checking organisations was an essential part of this project. From the start, we set out to learn their perspectives on misinformation challenges and priority topics.

This collaboration gave us clarity on what needed to be covered, while also allowing us to provide these organisations with access to our broad audience.

Of course, cooperation came with lessons:

• Fact-checking organisations often have strict editorial policies, which means extra time for synchronisation and approval cycles.
• Our team also learned the importance of clarifying details early, aligning distribution strategies, and adapting content to the unique requirements of different social media platforms. These extra steps took time, but they ensured the final product was both credible and effective.

When creating media literacy content, setting the right example is crucial. That means fact-checking everything, including our own materials.

Emerging topics like AI present special challenges: Asing AI-generated content to talk about AI-related risks is a delicate balancing act. We followed industry recommendations, such as guidance from META, to ensure our work remained accurate, ethical, and responsible.

What we at Legit.ng learned through this campaign is that media literacy doesn’t have to be dry or complicated. When presented in an engaging format, it becomes more accessible to everyday users.

Our mission was to give users tools they could immediately apply — a way to pause, reflect, and make smarter decisions before hitting “share.”

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