In this episode of Behind the Facts, we sit down with Carina van Wyk, Head of Training at Africa Check, to unpack the essentials of online and digital security. From securing your email to using VPNs and password managers, Carina shares crucial tips for staying safe online—especially in the high-stakes world of fact-checking. We also hear from fact checkers across Africa, including Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Namibia, about the skills they've gained through digital security training. Whether you're a fact-checker or just curious about online safety, this episode has something for you.

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Featured guests

Carina van Wyk, Head of Training, Africa Check

Lanre Olagunju, OSINT expert, Nigeria

Abel Wabella, Executive director, Inform Africa

Frederico Links, Project coordinator, Namibia Fact Check

Resources

For testing your password strength: https://bitwarden.com/password-strength/

For checking whether your email address has been in a data breach: https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Virtual Private Network (VPN) options:

• https://nordvpn.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqlhm7BAdUS61iHkMZW7vTQomMEMcnu0JTW9cEz_AHzeKnDLUFy
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• https://protonvpn.com/?srsltid=AfmBOop7xicRae77V5Sw6-qkE2WZvZ1cQHuk-g2fREESLGpoBKuo-daR

Two-factor authentication options:

• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.authenticator2&hl=en_ZA&pli=1
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• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.azure.authenticator&hl=en_ZA
• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beemdevelopment.aegis

Special thanks to

This episode was produced by the Africa Check team: Khumo Motaung, Tshiamo Mononyane, and Laura Kapelari. Your show host for this episode is Thipe Maelane, also from Africa Check.

Africa Check, the continent’s first independent fact-checking organisation, helps you separate fact from fiction.