U.S. Consulate Lagos Public Affairs Section (PAS)Notice of Funding Opportunity Media Literacy & Countering Misinformation Project | PAS NOFO FY21 03

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAS NOFO FY21 03

The U.S. Consulate General Lagos, through its Public Affairs Section (PAS), announced a discretionary grant opportunity titled "Media Literacy and Countering Misinformation Project" (Funding Opportunity Number: PAS NOFO FY21 03). The program is designed for media capacity development organizations that can build public resilience to online misinformation and disinformation, with a strong emphasis on practical media literacy and basic fact-checking skills delivered through radio. The funding instrument is a grant under CFDA 19.040, administered by the U.S. Mission to Nigeria, with an award ceiling of $60,000. The opportunity was posted on March 30, 2021, and originally closed on May 4, 2021.

Geographically, the project focuses on Nigeria's southern regions, specifically the states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, and Rivers. Within this footprint, the grant aims to reach communities that are especially vulnerable to misleading narratives circulating online, particularly through social media platforms and messaging apps where rumors can spread quickly and unchecked. The overall intent is to strengthen people’s ability to evaluate information critically, reduce the reach of harmful falsehoods, and encourage a culture of verifying before sharing.

The program objectives lay out what the grantee is expected to accomplish. First, applicants must identify which audience or audiences are most susceptible to misinformation and disinformation, rather than assuming a one-size-fits-all approach. Second, the grantee must educate that audience on how false information is created, packaged, and amplified online, using media literacy radio programming as the main delivery channel. Third, the programming should directly address common conspiracy theory themes and recurring misinformation topics that gain traction in group chats and social feeds. Examples mentioned include claims that COVID-19 does not exist, beliefs about supposed immunity, fears about vaccine safety, exaggerated or anecdotal claims about self-medication and folk remedies, and even conflict-related narratives such as claims about Boko Haram controlling harvests. In addition to topic-specific awareness, the program must teach the basics of digital fact-checking, including comparing multiple sources and seeking corroboration, and it must encourage people to rely on credible news sources online. A final and important objective is to increase public awareness of personal accountability, meaning the idea that individuals share responsibility for the harm caused when they forward unverified claims.

The priority program areas describe a fairly structured implementation plan centered on radio partnerships and capacity-building. A key early requirement is for the grantee to conduct a survey to determine the most appropriate target audience for the radio program and to identify which radio stations that audience actually listens to. Instead of building a new standalone survey from scratch, the audience analysis questions are expected to be added to an existing research instrument, suggesting the project should leverage ongoing or pre-existing data collection efforts where feasible. Using the findings, the grantee must then formalize partnerships by signing Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with at least 16 radio stations to support the production and airing of the media literacy program over a one-year period. The station distribution is specified: four stations in Lagos, four across the rest of the South West, four in the South East, and four in the South-South.

A notable feature of this opportunity is how it proposes to fund the radio programming. Rather than primarily paying for production services and airtime, the grantee is expected to negotiate arrangements where the value offered to stations comes through training and capacity support. Specifically, the grantee will train selected producers and reporters at the partner stations on how to promote media literacy and counter misinformation through radio content. The grant also includes donating certain equipment to stations to improve their ability to produce the program, making the intervention both educational and practical by strengthening local production capacity. The training content must incorporate existing U.S. Government materials, particularly the YALI (Young African Leaders Initiative) Media Literacy curriculum, which implies that applicants should be prepared to adapt and contextualize established modules rather than inventing all content anew.

Operationally, the trainings are expected to take place in American Centers and American Corners, indicating that programming should align with U.S. Mission public engagement spaces and possibly use them as convening venues for workshops and sessions. The opportunity also encourages, where possible, the inclusion of U.S. Government-sponsored Nigerian program alumni in implementation. This suggests the project should tap into alumni networks as trainers, speakers, mentors, or local champions who can extend the credibility and reach of the effort.

In short, this grant opportunity funds a one-year, radio-centered media literacy intervention across southern Nigeria that combines audience research, station partnerships, journalist/producer training, and targeted public education content aimed at reducing the spread and impact of misinformation. The expected outcome is a better-informed target audience that understands how misinformation travels, can perform basic verification, recognizes recurring conspiracy narratives, and feels a stronger sense of responsibility about what they share with others.

• The U.S. Mission to Nigeria in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled " U.S. Consulate Lagos Public Affairs Section (PAS)Notice of Funding Opportunity Media Literacy & Countering Misinformation Project" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-03-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $60,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for PAS NOFO FY21 03

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