ARIJ’s AFCN Concluded a Training for 4 Arab Media Organizations on Pre-Publication Fact-Checking 

February 18, 2026

The Arab Fact-Checkers Network (AFCN) from “ARIJ” concluded an intensive interactive digital training workshop titled “Basics of Pre-Publication Fact-Checking inside Newsrooms,” which lasted for three days on February 16, 17, and 18, 2026. The workshop targeted more than 18 journalists representing the teams of 4 Arab media organizations: Last Story from Palestine, Almushahid from Yemen, Aaber from Iraq, and Women Who Won the War from Syria.

This training, led by AFCN’s Senior Fact-Checker, Fatima Bani Ahmad, via Zoom, comes as part of the first phase of a support plan running from February to July 2026, aiming to support media organizations in building a clear fact-checking methodology and effectively integrating it into their editorial policies.

Over its three days, the workshop focused on establishing a practical and systematic understanding of fact-checking mechanisms. It highlighted ARIJ’s pre-publication fact-checking methodology and the “Three Checkpoints” methodology, which are: documenting information, evaluating sources mid-term, and finally, a comprehensive information check by a freelance fact-checker. The trainer emphasized during the training, the necessity of systematic documentation of the report or investigation from the beginning of the work until the delivery stages to ensure the success of the process.

The training also included advanced practical applications on verification methods for various types of content. This included checking images and videos through reverse search tools and metadata extraction, examining official documents, and reviewing filmed and recorded interviews. In addition, the training touched upon fact-checking different types of information, such as political and scientific information, and checking legal texts, as well as the ethical use of artificial intelligence.

Najla Al-Skafi, managing editor at the “Last Story” organization from Palestine, ensured that this training contributed to making her role in fact-checking more accurate and systematic with a scientific approach and well-studied tools to further enhance their media materials on the platform.

Samah Emla’aq, a journalist at “Almushahid” platform from Yemen, believes that “in a Yemeni reality where misleading information prevails like a flood, this course from ARIJ came to hone our skills as editors and fact-checkers, to limit the falsehood that spreads and affects the reputation of the journalist and the media outlet, and also negatively reflects on people’s lives.”

It is worth noting that since 2024, ARIJ’s AFCN has supported more than 10 Arab media organizations in developing a pre-publication fact-checking methodology and integrating it into their editorial policies.