SA7, a first year full of achievements
Related project
SA7One year after its launch, the SA7 project, which aims to reduce the impact of misinformation in the Arab world, has already achieved its objectives and in some cases exceeded them.
Development of the Marketplace and Chatbot
Between July 2024 and June 2025, the network of fact-checkers AFCN, created by ARIJ, checked 1,524 news items using the Arabic fact-checking tool, 'Chatbot' accessible to the general public on WhatsApp, far exceeding the initial target of 300 articles per year, which testifies to the success of this initiative.
Of these news items, 107 were validated by Artificial Intelligence. The Chatbot has 4,762 new users and 3,344 regular users.
AFCN has supported 7 media organisations to better integrate pre-publication fact-checking into their editorial processes:Daraj (Lebanon), Siraj (Syria), Swot (Jordan), Raseef22 (pan-Arab), Muwatin (Gulf), Palagraph (Palestine), Yemen Future (Yemen).
This support, which included four training workshops and fifteen individual coaching sessions, enabled the fact-checking of eleven in-depth investigations and reports via the AFCN Marketplace platform, the main link between the media, universities, non-governmental organisations and fact-checkers in the Arab world. Its main aim is to create employment opportunities for fact-checkers and to integrate pre-publication fact-checking into the media's editorial work flow.
Two regional meetings were organised online: the first brought together 51 people, fact-checking specialists and investigative journalists, to combat misinformation campaigns. The second brought together 40 people to discuss the sustainability challenges facing fact-checking organisations in the Arab world, as a result of USAID budget cuts and the changing policies of major technology companies.
These two meetings were particularly useful as they provided an opportunity to share ideas on investigative topics, to seek collaboration between participating media, and to make recommendations for future strategies.
Fact-checking curriculum, in Arabic
The Arabic fact-checking curriculum for universities has been proofread and revised by ARIJ's editor-in-chief. AFCN will shortly be drawing up a plan to implement a train-the-trainer programme for university lecturers. The curriculum will be presented during the ARIJ Forum which will take place from 5 to 7 December in Amman (Jordan), then 8 universities in Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Tunisia and Libya will integrate it into their curricula.
Durability
Following the award of grants to 5 fact-checking media organisations in 2024 to support their viability by meeting their operational and development needs, a new call for applications resulted in the selection of 9 media outlets from the 16 responses received. After studying the action plans and budgets submitted by the winning organisations, AFCN awarded them grants ranging from €2,000 to €8,000.
To ensure the long-term future of its activities, AFCN has enlisted the support of 2 experts to help it strengthen its business model. Their advice will be implemented over the coming months.
The activities of the SA7 project, financed by CFI, will come to an end in June 2026. An assessment of the activities carried out and their impact in the short and medium term will be shared.
