ARIJ’s AFCN Concludes “Masar” Project
October 1, 2025
The Arab Fact-Checkers Network (AFCN), from ARIJ, concluded the “Masar” project, which ran from October 2024 to September 2025 with the support of “Meta,” achieving its goals in enhancing fact-checking capabilities in the Arab world and combating information disorder.
The project aimed to elevate the level of fact-checking in the Arab region through three main pillars. Firstly, by developing the AFCN Chatbot, supported by Artificial Intelligence, which responds to hundreds of verification requests monthly from the public via WhatsApp, Messenger, and the website. Secondly, by building the capacity of fact-checking organizations through an intensive mentorship program, in addition to participating in international conferences that convey the experiences of Arab fact-checkers to international forums.
The project achieved the following:
1- AFCN Chatbot: Supports the Public by providing a service to verify claims they submit, especially during times of crises and breaking news. 4,982 new users benefited from the “Chatbot” service, seeking reliable answers. The chatbot team verified more than 1400 claims between October 2024 and September 2025, focusing their efforts on urgent issues in the region such as the war on Gaza, the war in Sudan, and the situations in Lebanon and Syria. The Chatbot team also received intensive training to develop and enhance their skills during the project period.
2- The Masar Mentorship Program did not aim to provide temporary solutions, but rather to build strong institutions capable of continuity and ensuring the sustainability of their work. Five Arab fact-checking organizations participated in the intensive 7-month program. Through more than 240 individual training sessions for the organizations, and 12 specialized workshops, these teams developed their vital strategies: from developing business models and financial sustainability, through enhancing communication strategies, ensuring digital and physical safety, to developing fact-checking methodology and content.
The five participating organizations in the program are:
1- She Checks – Libya
2- Annir – Libya
3- The Checker – Iraq
4- Fareq – Syria
5- Sawab – Lebanon
The “Masar Mentorship Program” also included a grant to support the organizations’ work in producing fact-checking reports during the project period. The goal was not only to produce 197 reports but also to ensure that these institutions are capable of continuing their work efficiently and impartially. AFCN also guided the five organizations in applying for accreditation from the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), and “Annir” platform has already obtained this accreditation.
3- International Presence: From the “Meta Regional Summit” in Amman in 2024, to the “Global Fact-Checking Summit (GlobalFact12)” in Brazil in 2025, these participations allowed for building partnerships, sharing challenges, and emphasizing the importance of the role played by fact-checkers in the Arab world.
Asia Al-Obaidi, an Iraqi fact-checker at The Checker organizations, says about what the program added to the platform’s team: “The clear and detailed methodology helped the team complete the work with higher accuracy and efficiency, which reduced errors and increased the quality of the results.”
The program experience was the beginning of a change for the participating platforms, as Ruwaida Al-Fallaq, Executive Director of the Libyan organization “She Checks,” confirmed that “After going through the experience of this program, we noticed a real change at multiple levels within the institution, not only in the way we manage and organize ourselves but also in our deep awareness of the importance of what we do and how to sustain it.”
Hassane Chaaban, an expert in media development and the Business Model coach of Masar, added that “The business model we established for each organization is not sacred; it must be subject to changes according to strategic matters and the variables you face. This is by no means the end of the road; now is the time for implementation.”
It is worth noting that the Arab Fact-Checkers Network (AFCN) from “ARIJ” continues its efforts to enhance the level of fact-checking in the Arab world through capacity building, providing tools, ensuring protection, and strengthening cooperative networking among fact-checkers to combat information disorder.
