Following the earthquakes that devastated communities across Turkey in February, misinformation spread rapidly, exacerbating the emotional toll it took on victims and families. Fact-checkers around the region, as part of the Qarib project, rallied to combat the surge in fake news. Ahead of International Fact Checking Day this Sunday, we highlight new initiatives and tools that promote accuracy in media.
A video claiming to show an exploding nuclear power plant was viewed more than 1.2 times, and some 300,000 people watched another video claiming to depict a tsunami striking Turkey’s shores – just two of the many such false constructions to have spread across social media after Turkey’s earthquakes in February.
In the Middle East, the Qarib project, financed by AFD Group in the framework of the Minka Peace and Resilience Fund and implemented by Canal France International (CFI), supports the media in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine. It aims to restore confidence in the media by supporting their independence and their role in fighting misinformation. Qarib is collaborating with Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) whose mission is to stimulate investigative journalism and transparency… more
(AFD)
