Application Deadline: 15 November 2025,
Applications are now open for the 2025/2026 Code for Africa (CfA) African Academy for Open Source Investigation (AAOSI) Fellowships. Code for Africa (CfA) is offering African Academy for Open Source Investigation (AAOSI) fellowships to mentor six journalists based in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. The programme aims to equip journalists from investigative media and watchdog CSOs/NGOs with open-source intelligence (OSINT) and social media forensics (SOCMINT) skills to produce evidence-driven analyses of information manipulation and interference (IMI) and coordinated inauthentic behaviour (CIB). The programme also seeks to support access to credible information.
AAOSI is part of a joint initiative by CfA’s forensic research team, iLAB; its AI/machine-learning team, CivicSignal; and its fact-checking team, PesaCheck.
goal for AAOSI fellowships is to mentor journalists, building their capacity to:
- Use OSINT and SOCMINT to investigate IMI and CIB.
- Produce compelling, evidence-driven investigations that strengthen public trust and information integrity.
- Contribute to a pan-African network of OSINT investigators and collaborate on transnational investigations with peers worldwide to unmask influence operations and information manipulation.
The fellowship will run for four months and aims to enhance information integrity in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal by tackling misinformation, hate speech, and propaganda, while also strengthening local media and civil society resilience.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible, you must:
- Be based in Côte d’Ivoire or Senegal and affiliated with a registered and recognised media house, digital news outlet, or CSO/NGO that focuses on audiences in Africa.
- Have at least one year of journalism or research experience, preferably in investigative or data journalism.
- Show proof of recently published work (within the past two months).
- Commit to weekly online training and mentorship sessions.
- Commit to timely and open communication about your progress.
- Be fluent in English or French (the fellowship’s working languages).
- Be willing to share your new knowledge within your newsroom or organisation.
- Commit to publishing/disseminating your work on an appropriate public platform. CfA will assist with partnerships and syndications where appropriate.
- Ensure your affiliated organisation is willing to publish the evidence-based content packages you produce during the fellowship.
Benefits
The programme will offer:
- Financial support: A monthly stipend to cover eligible activities and costs.
- Technical support: Hands-on OSINT and forensic analysis training, plus one-on-one mentorship from CfA’s data technologists, data analysts, multimedia producers, and editors.
- Publishing support: Publish your work through your media outlet, with opportunities for international syndication and amplification.
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