AFCN hosted a virtual closed roundtable with IFCN ahead of ARIJ21 forum
November 10th, 2021
On the sidelines of the #ARIJ21 annual forum, the Arab Fact-Checkers Network (AFCN), held on Wednesday, November 10, a closed virtual round-table with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which hosted 11 fact-checking institutions and initiatives from 10 Arab countries.
During the first hour of the round-table, the Program Manager of IFCN, Ferdi Ozsoy, presented the code of principles of the network, the services it provides in terms of advice, training, and support, as well as how institutions can apply to become members of the network and how the evaluation and approval process is carried out.
During the second hour, the attendees discussed many key points related to fact-checking in the Arab world, such as the challenges they face, the legal protection, and the support that can be provided by the AFCN and IFCN to fact-checkers in the region.
The Director General of ARIJ, Rawan Damen, and the project manager of AFCN, Saja Mortada, welcomed the participating institutions and initiatives, which were: Maharat from Lebanon, Verify from Syria, Misbar from Jordan, Kashif from Palestine, Sidq from Yemen, Tech 4 Peace from Iraq, Akhbar Meter from Egypt, Truth Seekers Center from Libya, Falso from Libya, Tahaqqaq from Morocco, Icheck from Tunisia, and Deutsche Welle Libya.
During the roundtable, Mortada stressed that the Arab Network is ready to provide full support and assistance to all institutions that are planning to apply to become verified signatories of the IFCN code of principles, adding that it will work closely in the coming years with all fact-checking organizations and initiatives and independent fact-checkers in the region to promote and develop methodologies and tools for pre- and post-publication fact-checking.