IMCTC Launches 'Peace Journalists' Initiative in Mogadishu
The Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), with Saudi Arabia's support, launched the Peace Journalists strategic media initiative in Mogadishu, aimed at building national media capabilities to counter extremist discourse, hate speech, disinformation campaigns, and terrorist propaganda in the digital space.
The launch ceremony was attended by Federal Republic of Somalia Minister of Defence Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, IMCTC Secretary General Major General Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi, and senior Somali government, security, and military officials.
In his remarks, Minister of Defence Ahmed Moallim Fiqi affirmed that countering terrorism cannot rely solely on military and security efforts, but requires building responsible media discourse to immunize communities against disinformation, radicalization, and extremist propaganda, and to entrench the values of moderation and coexistence. He praised IMCTC's role, led by Saudi Arabia, in developing national capabilities and training qualified media personnel, affirming the Federal Republic of Somalia's continued commitment as an active partner in efforts to combat terrorism and dry up its ideological, media, and financial sources.
IMCTC Secretary General Major General Al-Moghedi affirmed that the initiative aims to transform journalists from mere information transmitters into media professionals equipped with tools for analysis, verification, detection, and counter-messaging, capable of identifying disinformation sources, exposing fake accounts, detecting coordinated influence operations, and building counter-narratives.
The initiative includes a specialized training program targeting 40 trainees from among journalists, academics, and media specialists. Training covers the information disorder framework, digital verification, open-source intelligence, image and video analysis, network analysis, the psychological and social impacts of extremist discourse, and the development of counter-narratives and media literacy.
