By Lucy Omakpo
The 2nd Silk Road Global News Awards were announced at the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road held in Kunming, Southwest China’s Yunnan Province on 16 September 2025.
Austin Maho a Nigerian journalist and publisher of Daybreak.ng and Daybreak Nigeria newspaper emerged a winner of the long list award for his article: “Fake News and the Challenges of Reporting China’.
According to a statement by the Belt and Road News Network ( BRNN) All awards are initially evaluated by the academic committee, finalised by the judging committee, and then approved by the members of the BRNN Council.
The award winning report by Austin Maho is an in-depth analysis of the the problem of fake news and how it affects objective and fair report of the Belt and Road projects in Africa. The article was published in the Daybreak Nigeria of October 5, 2024.
The article dispels misinterpretation and fake news about Chinese involvement in Africa. negative labeling and perception of the Chinese by drawing on common misconceptions that is prevalent in African media most inspired by Western narratives.
The article highlights that China, like Africa, suffers from a skewed flow of information that favors Western perspectives to the detriment of the global south. This biased media control has created misleading portrayals of China and BRI projects including exaggerated claims such as the so-called “debt-trap diplomacy” and false reports about forced labor, and other conspiracies related to China-Africa relations.
He emphasizes the significant consequences of fake news, such as misinformation about China and Chinese people, fueling negative propaganda, conspiracy theories, and distrust in media. The article calls for journalists and media professionals, particularly in Africa and developing countries, to act responsibly by verifying information through credible sources and avoiding uncritical reproduction of Western media narratives. Dr. Maho stresses the importance of objective and balanced reporting to foster understanding, collaboration, and South-South solidarity rather than suspicion and fear.
He critiques the Western media’s portrayal of China’s growing influence, especially through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which is negatively framed despite its positive role in infrastructure development, trade connectivity, people to people relations among others. The article urges African journalists to be vigilant against misinformation and disinformation, promote media literacy, and inspire hope by narrating the real China beyond biased stereotypes .
Dr Austin Maho’s brief biography
Dr. Austin Maho has a long and distinguished media career spanning almost three decades. He has worked with Nigeria’s oldest newspaper the Daily Times rising to the position of regional editor before the company was privatized in 2004. He also worked as Managing Editor with Metro Spring Newspaper, served as Editor of the Nigerian Pilot newspaper before establishing Daybreak.ng and Daybreak Nigeria Newspaper in 2018. In 2019 he also establiahed the special interest magazine: The Dragon, a quarterly magazine that deals with Chinese businesses in Africa.
Dr Austin Maho is also the founder and Executive Director of Sino-Afrik Media Documentation and Development Center, a China- Africa media research think thank based in Abuja, Nigeria.
Dr Maho is a recipient of many awards including the, Media Development Award of Excellency, Media Advocacy Award among others. He is a distinguished member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
Since its call for submissions in April of 2024, the 2nd Silk Road Global News, Awards according to organizers received nearly 5,000 entries from 110 countries and regions. after the rigorous three stage process of selection the awards recognised a total of 58 works from 37 countries, with four grand prizes, 16 nominations and 38 finalist awards.
Since its inauguration in 2019 the Belt and Road News Network is a key platform for media cooperation within the BRI framework. The Silk Road Global News Awards is the Belt and Road News Network’s flagship brand event and the only international journalism award within the Belt and Road Initiative’s multilateral cooperation framework.
The 2nd Silk Road Global News Awards is included in the list of multilateral cooperation deliverables of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
