Read in Arabic / اقرأ بالعربية
The Tunis-based Arabic-language online media outlet, founded in September 2020 by Walid Mejri, is the second Tunisian media outlet to achieve Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) certification. Some fifty media outlets are on the same path as part of the NesTounes ناس تونس project, which Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is a partner of. Alqatiba الكَتيبة shares their experience in this testimonial.
Operated by Taqallam for freedom of speech and creativity, an association that promotes the development of journalism in North Africa, its founder, Walid Mejri, explains that “we have to constantly fight against misinformation and fake news, which requires rigorous verification work to guarantee the reliability of our content.”
In this sense, he adds that “JTI certification should strengthen our credibility and the public’s trust” and offer other concrete benefits: “access to funding and specific subsidies, especially for independent media; […] empowering a network of collaboration among certified media, to maximize the exchange of best practices and solidarity in the face of common challenges; […] additional protection against external pressures, whether political or economic, by showing that the media complies with high international ethics and independence standards.”
The journey towards JTI certification is a demanding exercise, to ensure that the media complies with the standard’s criteria, but also an opportunity for transformation. “One of the main challenges has been to strengthen our internal governance and transparency mechanisms, particularly concerning the management of conflicts of interest.”
Specializing in investigative journalism and data journalism, Alqatiba covers the whole of North Africa and takes an even closer look at Tunisian affairs. “We’ve also had to put in place more rigorous processes to check the reliability of our sources and guarantee our journalists’ independence from external forms of pressure.”
Finally, from a decision-making point of view, Mejri adds that the process “has enabled us to formalize our ethical charter and improve collaboration within our editorial team, to ensure better collective decision-making. For example, stricter protocols have been introduced to ensure a clear separation between editorial content and any external sources of funding. We have also integrated an error tracking system to ensure rapid and transparent corrections when errors are identified.”
Ayoub Dhifallah, JTI regional manager in Tunisia for RSF, leads the activities of the NesTounes ناس تونس project and supports any media wishing to learn more about JTI or take their first steps on the road to certification. Email contact: adhifallah@rsf.org
