Transforming the Narrative in the Arab World

In the MENA region, journalism has long struggled to overcome a challenging ecosystem marked by a lack of transparency, repressive laws, and unaccountable governmental organs. This has led to a compliant, self-censoring, and cautious media landscape, often lacking expertise and professionalism, resulting in a weaker and less effective media environment.

However, we are on a mission to change the status quo. Through a comprehensive program of training, coaching, mentoring, and support, we are consolidating, expanding, and nurturing investigative journalism and fact-checking best practices to ensure their sustainability.

Overcoming Threats and Obstacles

The job of an investigative journalist or fact-checker in the Arab World is fraught with challenges and dangers. Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 Index paints a grim picture of the MENA region, with deteriorating conditions for journalists,  classifying the situation as “very serious”. The region remains one of the world’s most dangerous and difficult for journalists, with persistent authoritarianism, increasing political pressures, ongoing conflicts, and suppression of protest movements contributing to a hostile environment for media professionals. These factors present unique threats to journalists’ physical, digital, legal, and mental safety and their ability to fulfill their mission of informing the public.

More than three quarters of the 99 journalists and media workers who perished worldwide in 2023 were killed in the Gaza war, according to a report published in February 2024 by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).CPJ’s report documents the highest number of deaths recorded by the organization since 2015—a stark indicator of the unprecedented number of journalists and media workers killed in the Gaza war.

The vast majority (72) were Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. In December 2023, CPJ reported that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year.Despite facing numerous smear campaigns, we have persevered in our efforts to join with other journalism groups globally, sharing whistleblowers’ leaks, unraveling arrays of criminal businesses, and exposing what the powerful often wanted to hide.

Our unwavering commitment to empowering journalists has made a significant impact across the Arab World. Since our inception, we have trained more than 10,000 journalists, fact-checkers, editors, media professors, and students in at least 16 Arab countries. Our support extends beyond training, as we have coached and funded around 1,000 investigations, providing crucial pre-publication, fact-checking and legal screening services.

The reach of our educational efforts has expanded dramatically through ARIJ Academy, our online training platform. Each year, 10,000 trainees benefit from our diverse array of online, offline, and hybrid training programs, allowing us to nurture talent and skills on an unprecedented scale.

Recognizing the critical importance of combating misinformation to strengthen the ecosystem of investigative journalism, we established the Arab Fact-Checkers Network (AFCN). Since its inception in 2020, AFCN has grown from a grassroots network into an influential force promoting transparent and impartial fact-checking in the Arab world. The network is dedicated to capacity building, safety, networking and innovation by developing fact-checking methodologies, fostering a strong community, providing support and protection to fact-checkers, and Arabizing tools, educational resources, and data sources. Currently, AFCN comprises over 250 fact-checkers in the MENA region, including freelancers, from 16 Arab countries, and is affiliated with over 40 fact-checking organizations and initiatives.

We also serves as a vital data and research hub, housing an extensive collection of documents from official Arab newspapers spanning over 100 years and 16 Arab countries. Our data desk provides invaluable support to journalists, supplying them with essential data and documents upon request. This resource has been utilized by both regional and international journalists, and the published work of investigative centers.

In a media landscape where the production of free, independent, critical, and accountable content faces increasing challenges, we stand as an unrelenting beacon of hope for safeguarding truth. We continue to empower journalists, providing them with the tools, skills, and support needed to overcome obstacles and transform the narrative in the Arab world. Through our multifaceted efforts, ARIJ is not just supporting journalism – we’re fostering a new era of transparency, accountability, and informed discourse across the entire region.