The State of Fact-checking in Morocco: from Information Disorder to Information Integrity

Abstract

This article examines the emergence of fact-checking in Morocco as a modern journalistic practice in response to a growing proliferation of mis/disinformation across social media platforms in recent years. The article specifically explores the factors contributing to the rise of fact-checking initiatives, assesses the efficacy of fact-checking in mitigating the spread of false and misleading information, and identifies key challenges encountered by practitioners in the field. For the purposes of this study, we have used semi-structured interviews and document analysis as data collection instruments. Based on the data collected, we have concluded that fact-checking has a crucial role to play in combatting mis/disinformation in Morocco, but that contribution could be greater if two conditions are met: 1) the government provides financial support to fact-checking efforts, and 2) schools devote resources to building young people’s media and digital literacy competence.