They built a corruption scandal tracker for Kenya. Here’s what it took
Last year, investigative journalism group Africa Uncensored and the data journalists at Odipo Dev launched Wizileaks, an online tracker that monitors corruption scandals in Kenya by each regime from 1978 through to today. It was a mammoth project which now has its own browser extension and, for its superfans, they even made a trivia card game.
Media Hack Collective spoke with Odipo Dev’s managing director, Odanga Madung, via WhatsApp about how they made it, what lessons they learned along the way, and what’s next. This is an edited version of our conversation about the collaboration.
What was the project coordination like between the organisations? How many people were involved?
Africa Uncensored gave the editorial direction while Odipo Dev provided technical expertise. There were probably over 15 people involved who were dedicated to this project alone. It’s been quite a massive undertaking for us.
How much time did it take to get all the information? Checking facts and making sure everything is accurate takes a lot of time. How did you do this?
It took us three years to collect the data. For fact-checking and verification alone, I think it took about two months because of the very vague nature of corruption cases and data in this country.
It was a multi-pronged step-by-step process of verification that was very hands-on. We took our time collecting the data and made sure that our process was very clear. We had a set number of documents that we would refer to within the project, which were either court cases or relevant regulatory bodies that had cited certain people or referred to certain credible media outlets that may have done stories. Secondly, we created manuals for all the data collection teams because handling the process is huge. [Editor’s note: For a massive, complex project like this a manual sets out processes, systems, and definitions. It helps the team capture and process data in a uniform fashion.]
Sometimes, your problem — in terms of verification — is not even a question of whether things might be true or false. But a question of errors of commission or omission. So one zero can make someone look like a really bad person. And the removal of one zero can also make someone look like a saint. It’s very important to try and manage those kinds of errors.
We had to have different types of people inspecting the data sheets for different types of things. Manuals were assigned to each and every person that was carrying out verification to make sure that what was there was something that could be accurately reflected upon and delivered to people.
The final step was a legal review. It was there to ensure that any of the documents that had been referred to had not been cited in any defamatory manner or might bring libel issues.
Why did you make the browser extension?
We came up with the extension [which allows users to find the names of people with connections to corruption] because we are trying to turn Wizileaks into a sort of — if I could call it — a “universe”. Almost like the way you think about a cinematic universe.
On top of the extension, for example, we created a Wizileaks trivia card game which we released during the December holidays and distributed to several fans of the project. You can turn it into a drinking game and, it was quite a success.
For us, the idea of creating this multifaceted way of delivering content is the main premise behind the work that we’re doing within Wizileaks.
The extension may not have been part of the initial strategy, but it is something that came about and was enabled by the fact that we wanted to build an asset that was not only limited to infographics and news stories.
We’re thinking about how we deliver information that matters to people the most. People don’t want to consume information only by reading it on news sites or social media. They want to engage with it, they want to play with it, they want to have fun with it, they want it to be a bit more omnipresent, and they want to encounter it.
What is the process for making an extension?
You need a full-on development team. Typically, you need someone in charge of the user experience (UX). The data collection team has to be on hand and you need a very good set of JavaScript developers as well as someone to handle the review and submission of the extension to Google.
It depends on the levels of skills available within your team, but it definitely ranges between a team of five to 10 people. Different people are experts at different facets of getting the extension developed and submitted, especially given the kind of database that we are dealing with.
Do you think the amount of information on the website is overwhelming for users?
We went through two iterations of the site, which is why it looks more like an infographic-type website instead of a portal. User testing is something we’re going to keep doing to see how we can improve the user experience.
Will you make the data available for download in the future to the public?
Having the data downloadable is something that we’re still working on because I think the main point is not to give one big data dump to many people. What we want to do is make a dataset that people can download in a very easy-to-analyse and easy-to-understand manner for the specific things they’re looking for.
What was your most important lesson with this project?
That verification is hard. And data projects of this magnitude don’t come cheap. If they are done on the cheap or in a way that doesn’t meet the necessary quality and standards, you will face issues.
You really need to be hands-on and be a stickler for the process when it comes to doing this kind of work. This project is very much an example for us of what happens when you trust the process.
If a newsroom wants to do something like this, what advice would you give them?
Don’t underestimate the level of work that it takes because if you do, and you don’t dedicate the number of resources you need in order to get such a project out, then you won’t do it well. And you will probably end up in a lot of trouble. Be a stickler for the process and have a very good lawyer.
Media Hack Collective publishes data journalism on The Outlier — including a growing collection of charts — offers data journalism training across the African continent, and publishes a number of data-backed newsletters.
