Armed conflict and wars places journalists at the intersection of personal vulnerability and professional responsibility. While they are directly affected by the insecurity, anxiety, and disruption associated with war, they are also tasked with navigating an increasingly complex information environment characterized by information overload, competing narratives, and the rapid spread of misleading content. In this context, journalists play a critical role in fact-checking information, providing context, and enabling the public to make informed decisions at a time when access to reliable information becomes both more difficult and more essential.

To better understand these dynamics, Maharat Foundation, in partnership with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), launched the fellowship “Understanding the Information Landscape in Wartime.”

Through this fellowship, 13 journalists explored how information circulates during conflict, how misinformation and disinformation affect public understanding, and how journalists can contribute to strengthening evidence-based reporting and reducing tensions in highly polarized contexts.

Drawing on their own experiences during the war on Lebanon and the challenges they encountered, the fellows produced 13 in-depth journalistic investigations examining the information environment in times of conflict and seeking to answer a fundamental question:

How can we navigate information chaos during wartime and promote narratives grounded in facts that help reduce tensions amid deep social and political divisions?