What is the project about?

This project strenghthens the resilience of Egyptian youth and media professionals against misinformation and disinformation. Through a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach, it develops tailored training manuals, workshops, and digital literacy interventions to promote critical thinking, responsible information sharing, trust in public institutions and the promotion of responsible digital citizenship.

By engaging government, academia, media, legal experts, and civil society, the project equips participants with practical tools to navigate today’s complex information landscape. Key components include the creation of specialized training modules for youth and journalists, pilot capacity-building workshops, and a national awareness-raising campaign promoting media literacy and digital citizenship.

Situational Background  

With the rapid spread of social media and digital platforms, misinformation and disinformation have become major challenges in Egypt, particularly among young people. False narratives can undermine confidence in institutions, spread harmful rumors, and weaken social cohesion.

Egypt’s large and diverse youth population, combined with evolving digital technologies, makes it essential to ensure access to accurate, reliable information and to equip young people with critical thinking and media literacy skills. of the rise of AI-generated content and recent global crises have further blurred the line between fact and falsehood.

In response, and aligned with national priorities, UNDP Egypt partnered with key stakeholders to design and implement this project — addressing the root causes of misinformation and promoting sustainable, locally led solutions.

How are we doing this?

1. Needs Assessment:
The project began with a comprehensive needs assessment of Egypt’s information landscape, including desk research, literature review, and stakeholder analysis. This assessment identified key challenges, gaps, and opportunities in Egypt’s to guide evidence-based interventions.

2. Consultation Sessions:
Multi-stakeholder consultation sessions were conducted with representatives from government (such as theMinistry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology), academia (American University in Cairo (AUC), media organizations, legal experts, and civil society. These discussions gathered expert input, to validate project priorities and ensure that activities are contextually relevant and sustainable.

3. Development of Training Manuals:
Comprehensive, context-specific manuals were developed in Arabic and English for youth and media professionalscovering definitions, forms, and impacts of misinformation/disinformation, as well as modules on digital citizenship, and fact-checking, and online tools.

4. Capacity Building Workshops:
Pilot Training-of-Trainers (ToT)sessions and workshops were delivered for youth and journalists, enhancing their ability to analyze, verify and counter false information within their communities.  

5. Awareness Rasining Social Media Campaign:
In partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, a social media campaign was launched to promote media literacy, critical thinking, and responsible information sharing.

 How will Egypt benefit?:

1. The project contributes to a more informed, digitally literate, and resilient society by: Enhancing digital literacy and critical thinking among Egyptian youth and media professionals through tailored training manuals, workshops, and pilot sessions that strengthen their ability to identify and counter misinformation and disinformation online.

2. Increasing public awareness and resilience to misinformation through a national awareness campaigns -- empowering citizens to think critically, verify sources, and build trust in public institutions and credible information channels.
 

IMPACT: