How AFCN built the Strategies of 6 Fact-checking Organizations under the “Go Far, Go Together” Project?
After seven months of work, the Arab Fact-Checkers Network (AFCN) from ARIJ, concludes its “Go Far, Go Together” project, supported by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which launched in December 2023 during the ARIJ16 annual forum.
The project aimed to support six fact-checking organizations/initiatives within the AFCN network community from five Arab countries in building their strategies. The project concluded on July 15, 2024, and the outcomes were discussed during the third quarterly meeting of the year, gathering the platforms and experts involved. In addition to 6 months support to the organizations.
The project supported six Arab fact-checking organisations/initiatives: Chayyek from Lebanon/Jordan, Tahaqqaq from Palestine, Tayqan from Palestine, TuniFact from Tunisia, Tahaqqaq from Morocco, and Sidq from Yemen. The organisations were supported by three experts: Samya Ayyish, ARIJ’s Communication Manager; Hassane Chaaban, media and organisational expert; and Abdullah Maksour, safety expert.
Over six months, the three experts coached and trained the six organisations, which succeeded in building their trio strategies that included their business models, communication strategy, and safety strategy. Through more than 180 closed coaching sessions, 8 training, and 3 quarterly meetings, the experts interacted with the organisations and their teams almost daily to build strategies that ensure the sustainability of the organisations in the coming years and develop their fact-checking work.
The project also significantly enhanced collaboration and networking between the six organisations, which worked over six months to support each other based on their strengths and needs. The project also succeeded in elevating the level of discussion on organisational development within Arab fact-checking organisations to ensure their ability to sustain, compete, and expand more broadly, both regionally and internationally.
Hassan Chaaban, a media management expert who supported the organisations in developing their business models, said: “I consider that each initiative has achieved its own success story, having developed into organised, professional organisations with a solid and cohesive commercial infrastructure, laying the foundation for their long-term success and sustainability.”
From her side, Samya Ayyish, who supported the organisations in developing their communication strategies, stated: “The importance of the project lies in it being one of the very few in the Arab world that focuses on institutional pillars in fact-checking work, moving these platforms from mere initiatives and small projects to organisations seeking sustainability in their work”.
Abdullah Maksour, an expert in journalistic safety, who supported the organisations in building their safety strategies, emphasised that the project “forms a crucial pillar in institutionalising the platforms, embedding a culture of professional safety to enable fact-checkers to handle all conditions with high professionalism.”
The project achieved many different success stories, most notably the return of the “Tahaqqaq-Morocco” initiative to work after a year of stoppage due to financial and institutional challenges, several platforms winning funding grants based on what they learned about design thinking and project building, as well as developing the visual identity of several platforms, significantly increasing audience interaction with them.
The six platforms expressed the importance of the project for them as follows:
“In general, the project had a significant positive impact on the platform by raising awareness of the risks that the team might face, opening up new horizons related to funding methods, and improving the communication aspect and the platform’s image.”
Yasmine Dakhli, TuniFact, Tunisia
“The project greatly helped us develop our work, understand our audience, and enhance our visual identity and communication, and collaboration with various institutions.“
Baker Abdelhaq, Tahaqqaq, Palestine
“The project significantly contributed to introducing design thinking into our institution and working on humanising our content in a likeable and approachable manner.“
Sidq, Yemen
“Given that the platform was inactive for two years, the project’s most prominent success is the resumption of its activities and the effort to rebuild the team, which is a significant achievement for us.“
Ghassan Ben Chiheb, Tahaqqaq, Morocco
“We are happy with the impact and opportunity provided by the AFCN within the project, which strengthened our collaboration with other Arab platforms and pushed us to develop and change many aspects of our work at all levels.“
Mousa Abuqaood, Chayyek, Jordan/Lebanon
“The project greatly contributed to giving Tayqan an institutional character and laying the foundation for it, as well as creating a real strategy for communication, marketing, protection, and building the business model.“
Anas Hawari, Tayqan, Palestine
