When we launched OJ-UGANDA.COM in April 2025, we published an article introducing this website to Ugandans, and we stated our mission: To redefine the relevance of traditional media by offering a trusted alternative to social media.
Why social media? It has become the go-to digital “newspaper/radio/TV station” for news. To be fair, many stories we read on social media are true, and social media is used by news outlets. But—and it is a big but—almost every day social media carries a story or stories that are completely false.
Sometimes it is because the people behind the stories believed everything on face value, did not verify and went ahead to publish whatever they had. Other times it is because someone just wants to disseminate lies.
We have learned that when verifying, even claims/statements from figures/sources generally viewed as experts should be interrogated.
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For journalists, tight deadlines mean that verification can exact a high demand on limited time and cause delays. But being the first to publish a story when it is false damages your reputation, especially if you are targeting discerning information consumers.
As social media continues to be a source of news, truth is going to remain elusive. This means verification standards have got to be pretty high.
In the course of 2025, we have seen stories that trended but had nothing to suggest they were properly sourced or verified. Quick examples:
- Former Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga is critically ill and is admitted to Kenyatta Hospital
- Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta has cancer
- The home of Tanzania’s Speaker of Parliament is set on fire
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer imposes a nationwide curfew
- Kenya’s news site, Tuko, calls gossip blogger Rita Kaggwa a journalist
In the first example, Ms Kadaga herself called a news conference on December 25 and refuted the false news. But it had been reported by several outlets, including Uganda Radio Network.
The story about Mr Starmer imposing a nationwide curfew was completely false. The New York Times reported it began life as a fake TikTok video someone created using AI.
Our website’s contribution to fighting misinformation, under OJ Fact Checks, has revealed that taking what is being said by experts on trust can sometimes drive misinformation.
Six reasons you should trust what you read on this website—and share it with confidence
1. Led by experience that travels well
Our founder and editorial director, Musaazi NAMITI, brings more than two decades of serious newsroom experience, including eight years as an editor at Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar, and consulting for the African Development Bank, UN agencies and Globe Media Asia in Cambodia. His global exposure anchors OJ-UGANDA.COM in professional rigour and fairness—standards that too often slip in Uganda’s crowded media space.
2. We fact-check with scientific precision
Verification is NOT a box we tick; it is how we bring journalism to life. We confirm spellings, dates, figures, places—every detail that shapes a story. If a fact looks shaky, we pause and probe. Emotion does not lead us; evidence does.
3. We are a legal entity and are fully registered
OJ-UGANDA.COM is a company registered with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau. Our registration number is: 80034266163714
4. Radical transparency in how we work
We do not hide behind mystery. We show readers how information is gathered, verified and edited. You will always understand why we stand by a story—because we will let you in on the process.
5. Accountability you can see
When we err, we do not sweep it under the carpet/rug. Our corrections policy ensures every error is corrected immediately, with a clear note explaining what went wrong and what has been fixed. No quiet deletions. No half-truths.
6. Fair treatment for contributors
If you write for us, your ideas remain yours. We refine, not usurp. We share every edited version before publication, and we publish only work that is fact-based and mutually agreed upon. Your voice stays authentic—and honest.
🔴We run a clean, professional news site that prioritises editorial quality and draws readers’ attention to what matters.
For example, in our most recent fact checks, we discovered that one of the moderators of the November Presidential Debate, Anorld Segawa, had completely false information about Uganda’s score on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
Prof Mahmood Mamdani spoke about Uganda’s districts in a book interview and said they were close to 200. He is wrong.
A reporter at the New Vision wrote a story about diabetes and attributed a fake quote to a paper published by the British Medical Journal. Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju’s claim that Sudhir Ruparelia makes shs600,000 every minute from rent is false.
We verified and found that Rwandan President Paul Kagame did not study at Makerere University, as the Encyclopaedia Britannica claims. We also published a fact check that revealed that Rwanda does not have a fallen military hero called Fred Rwigyema, a name still widely used in Uganda, even by Ugandans who are very close to Rwanda.
In 2026, we will press ahead with fact checks, interrogating claims of all kinds. This is an election year, and we are already witnessing evidence of controlled information flow at Parliament. Journalists from critical news outlets are barred from reporting on Parliament.
Fact checks, coupled with media literacy, should play a major role in making Ugandans an informed citizenry.
🔴 Musaazi Namiti is the Founder and Editorial Director of OJ-UGANDA. He previously led the Africa Desk at Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar, worked for Globe Media Asia in Cambodia and writes a widely read column for Uganda’s Sunday Monitor. His work has been quoted by The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Jeune Afrique, The Africa Report—not for playing it safe, but for saying what others will not.
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