28 – 30 October 2026 · Kampala, Uganda

AI Against
Disinformation

Hackathon theme 2026

Build the tools that hold the feed accountable.

48 hours. 6 university teams. One working AI prototype that detects disinformation on the platforms East Africans actually use.

Register your teamSee the challenge

Registration closes 14 October 2026 · 6 team slots only

Until the build begins

00
Days
00
Hours
00
Minutes
00
Seconds

The challenge

Build an AI prototype.
Ship it in 48 hours.

Your team builds or configures an AI-based tool, bot, or workflow that detects or flags disinformation on WhatsApp, X, Facebook, or TikTok.

This is a creation challenge, not a fact-checking desk. Judges want a working prototype with a live demo — something a newsroom in Kampala or Nairobi could pick up and use on Monday morning.

Apply with your team

Open to students of the 10 pilot universities who took the AI journalism classes. Questions? ebahindi@mciug.org

6 teams

One team per university, 3 students each — every slot is contested.

Live demo

Pitch day puts your prototype in front of the judging panel, not a slide deck about it.

The experience

Why enter the hackathon?

A 48-hour build weekend designed to turn what you learned in class into something a newsroom can actually run.

01

Frontier AI tools

Claude and ChatGPT access provided by MCI for the full build weekend, plus the OSINT and fact-checking stack.

02

A technical mentor

Every team is paired with an MCI mentor, with a WhatsApp support line open across all 48 hours.

03

AI Media Lab access

The e-learning platform and Lab space stay open to winning teams long after the weekend ends.

04

A real audience

Pitch a working prototype to a judging panel of editors, technologists and media researchers.

The AI Media Lab studio in Kampala: participants working at laptops around long desks.

About the programme

Run by the MCI AI Media Lab

The hackathon closes out AI in Journalism Hackathon, a programme that trains journalism lecturers and their students across Eastern Africa to work with AI rather than around it.

Everything from the curriculum applies here — disinformation ecosystem analysis, verification workflows, and the Ubuntu AI Ethics Code that governs how these tools get built.

Inside the Lab

Where the work actually happens

Three participants leaning over a laptop together, prototyping at the AI Media Lab.
Prototyping together
Participants working at laptops at the AI Media Lab's workstations during a session.
Workstations in session
A facilitator presenting beside a screen during the ethics and AI fluency module.
Ethics and AI fluency
Educators standing in a wide circle during a convening at the AI Media Lab.
Convening the network

The road to pitch day

How it runs

A curriculum development session for the AI competences programme.
  1. 14 October 2026
    Deadline
    01

    Registration closes

    Your lecturer confirms the nomination and your team is locked in.

  2. 21 October 2026
    Online
    02

    Orientation session

    Rules, judging criteria, AI tool access, and an introduction to your MCI mentor.

  3. 28 October 2026
    Build
    03

    The 48-hour hackathon begins

    Build from your campus. Tool access and a WhatsApp support line stay open the whole time.

  4. 30 October 2026
    Pitch
    04

    Pitch day and awards

    Live demos before the judging panel at MCI Media Hub. Winners announced the same afternoon.

The scorecard

How you will be judged

Five criteria, weighted. The panel scores every prototype against the same sheet.

30%

Technical functionality

Does the prototype work? Is the live demo convincing?

25%

Journalistic relevance

Does it address a real disinformation problem in East African media?

20%

Ethical AI application

Does the team apply the Ubuntu AI Ethics Code?

15%

Innovation and creativity

Does the approach go beyond existing tools?

10%

Scalability

Could this run in newsrooms across East Africa?

6
University teams
18
Students building
48
Hours to ship
10
Pilot universities

The incentives

What winning teams receive

Professional development that keeps your prototype and your skills growing long after the weekend.

Top prize

Best project

  • 1-year AI tool subscription
  • 2 months of AI Media Lab access
  • team mentorship
  • certificate of excellence

2nd best project

  • 6-month AI tool subscription
  • 1 month of Lab access
  • mentorship
  • certificate

3rd best project

  • 3-month AI tool subscription
  • Lab orientation session
  • certificate

People's choice

  • 3-month AI tool subscription
  • spotlight on MCI platforms
  • certificate

Eligibility

Who can enter

Register your team

Trained students only

Students from the 10 pilot universities in Uganda who attended the AI journalism classes taught by the project's trained lecturers.

Teams of exactly 3

At least 2 journalism or media students and 1 student with IT skills.

One team per university

Each institution fields a single team, so choose your line-up carefully.

Lecturer confirmed

Your nominating lecturer confirms the registration before the slot counts.

Partners

Who backs this work

The hackathon is delivered by the MCI AI Media Lab as part of a wider Eastern Africa programme.

  • Media Challenge Initiative
  • CAMECO
  • Erich Brost Institute
  • BMZ

6 slots · closes 14 October 2026

48 hours to build
something true.

Bring three students, one idea, and a lecturer who will vouch for you. We will bring the tools, the mentors and the room.

Register your team