How MIL4Women empowers women's cooperatives

When false stories flood social media, they distort facts and shape lives. According to DW Akademie’s partner penplusbytes, during Ghana’s most recent election, nearly 8 out of 10 misleading narratives were spread by Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok and X, fuelling confusion and trust. 

For women in rural communities, where digital spaces are often the main source of news, the stakes are even higher. 

Countering manipulated images and fabricated quotes  

In Ghana, DW Akademie is responding with the Media and Information Literacy project, MIL4Women. Using a practical train-the-trainer approach, community facilitators trusted by the women’s cooperatives they serve, attend workshops run by the project trainers to learn practical tools to help cooperative membersidentify, resist and counteract disinformation in everyday situations.  

The community facilitators become multipliers, bringing these modules back to the cooperatives, tailoring examples to local concerns such as health messages, market prices, election rumor cycles and weather alerts, and facilitating in native languages. “The goal of this approach is to build a strong network of multipliers who can introduce MIL in a meaningful, local way,” explains Osman Abubakari-Sadiq, DW Akademie Ghana project manager. “We want facilitators who already understand their communities to gain the skills and confidence to spread MIL independently,” he says. 

Deeper understanding

MIL4Women sessions for cooperative members are action focused. Facilitators guide them through various aspects, such as media ownership and content framing, information ecosystems and commercial mechanisms that drive social media. They also look at sources and content verification as well as digital safety, including digital networks and proactive digital security. 

Local and relatable

Women’s cooperatives are natural hubs. They share market intelligence, coordinate childcare and support one another through seasonal changes. By anchoring media literacy in these cooperatives, MIL4Women meets women where they are already organized and where verified information can quickly influence real decisions. 

 “The women run markets, cooperatives, households and community groups. Empowering and building their capacity is not a gender decision – it's a strategic one,” Osman points out. “When women understand and question information, entire communities benefit.” 

Effective changes

Facilitators report tangible shifts, including fewer rumor cascades in their groups, calmer responses to provocative content and a growing “check before share” culture. 

Karim Alima from Kasalgu, Northern Ghana, describes how the training changed her daily habits: “At first, whenever I heard information, I just assumed it was true and acted on it. Now, whenever I receive information, I pause and ask questions or verify it from trusted sources before using it in my daily life,” she says. 

Osman has noticed similar shifts in attitudes. “The multipliers themselves have become more confident; they now understand MIL better and recognize its relevance to their work. Also, women who participated in step-down trainings have gained an understanding of issues like misinformation, media bias, scams and WhatsApp rumors that affect their livelihoods,” he says. 

MIL4Women also builds professional credibility for the community facilitators. They learn to document learning outcomes, gather feedback and maintain simple evidence packs containing attendance lists, photos of sessions and examples of group behavior before and after the sessions. These practices strengthen local partnerships and make the model replicable across regions.

Thinking critically 

Preventing fabricated content from shaping public perception is a challenge, but for workshop participants in Siriyiri, in Ghana’s Upper West Region, the first step is critical thinking. "Whenever I receive information, I sit down and analyze it before applying it," says Zeimpa Summabo. This simple habit of pausing to question remains one of the strongest defenses against manipulation.

More than 340 women from cooperatives have since been trained to assess thequality of information, verify sources and share responsibly. Osman Abubakari-Sadiq is encouraged by this:“Multipliers and participants now pause before sharing, especially on WhatsApp,” he notes. “They’re more aware that misinformation is not only found in big political stories – it can also be found in health tips, market prices, audio messages or local rumors.  Participants are becoming more vocal in asking, ‘Who said this? Where is it coming from?’ These small but steady changes in daily behavior,” he stresses, “show that the project is working.” 

MIL4Women, a three-month project by DW Akademie, has concluded. It was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Cooperation and Development (BMZ).