Mouldi Ayari

This workshop represents an important stage in the continued implementation of the “Protecting Electoral Processes in the Information Environment” project in Iraq. It aims to build on the work carried out in 2025, ensure the continuity of key initiatives - especially “Iraq Filter,” a fact-checking platform focused on misleading election-related information, and the Election Hate Speech Monitoring Observatory - and support the completion of a new roadmap for the period 2026–2027.

Monday, March 2nd was meant to mark the beginning of a series of workshops in Beirut. These sessions aimed to bring together Lebanese stakeholders ahead of the elections, which were originally planned for May 2026. The intention was to discuss how best to cooperate, ensuring that the elections would be trusted and protected, with a particular focus on the information environment. Sadly, only hours before the workshop scheduled to begin, bombs began falling on Beirut.

The workshop aimed at strengthening the institutional capacities of the Commission and its partners in protecting the electoral process from digital threats and misleading media. The workshop was attended by several senior staff members from HNEC Communication Department, the Media Monitoring Unit, and the Filter project.