NNA - Lebanon’s Ministry of Information, under the supervision of Information Minister Dr. Paul Morcos and with the support of the UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut, continues its efforts to strengthen the credibility of media work and promote a culture of information verification. These efforts come amid the successive crises facing Lebanon, and the growing spread of misinformation and inaccurate news circulation, aiming to protect public opinion from disinformation and limit the spread of rumors, particularly during times of crisis.

In this context, with the support of UNESCO, the Ministry has worked to establish a specialized unit within the ministry dedicated to verifying information under the name 'Fact Check Lebanon,' along with a dedicated webpage on the Ministry's official website to review circulating news and information, and publish the results of fact-checking to the public.

With the support of the UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut, the Ministry has trained the staff working in this unit through a series of specialized workshops focused on skills and methods for verifying information, tools for monitoring news on digital platforms, and techniques for analyzing media content. This aims to strengthen the Ministry's capacity to track circulating news and counter media misinformation.

Furthermore, the Ministry aims to enhance cooperation and coordination with media outlets, journalists, and relevant institutions to develop mechanisms for verifying and sharing information. This would contribute to the dissemination of accurate and reliable news and promote professional media standards.

As part of supporting this initiative, UNESCO is accompanying the work of the unit by engaging a group of young people from various Lebanese regions who had previously participated in media and information literacy trainings, particularly within the framework of the youth empowerment project in south Lebanon, funded by UNIFIL.

This initiative is expected to strengthen the Ministry of Information's role in monitoring circulating news, verifying its accuracy, and publishing fact-checking results to the public via the dedicated online platform, thereby helping to curb the spread of misinformation and promote a more responsible and professional media environment.