ARIJ Investigation “Cyberstorm” Wins WAN-IFRA's Asian Media Award 2025

ARIJ’s investigation “Cyberstorm: “Petroleum accounts” lead disinformation campaign on climate change” won the Best “Climate Impact Story” award in the small/medium media category at the Asian Media Awards 2025, organized by WAN-IFRA (The World Association of News Publishers).

The investigation competed against 228 entries from 41 media outlets across 17 countries. The awards’ official site highlighted ARIJ’s entry as the first of its kind in this prestigious competition.

Using ARIJ’s methodology for investigating disinformation campaigns, the report documented a coordinated campaign coming from Gulf-based accounts that deny climate change — aligned with regional and global climate action events — aimed at undermining climate activism.

The investigation was conducted in partnership with Code for Africa and supported by the Disarming Disinformation program of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) — a three-year international initiative funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation.