Miftah Foundation — media literacy in Syria

01 — Our projects

A core programme, and a platform that grew out of it

Core programme

Media literacy

We train people to think critically about the information that reaches them: where a story came from, how to tell a claim from a fact, and what needs verifying before it is shared.

The programme runs on two tracks:

In schools and community spacesSessions in schools and cultural centres, run with local institutions that reach the people large programmes do not.

With the people who manage local informationCommunity page admins and local correspondents, who have become the gatekeepers of information by circumstance rather than by training. We teach them verification and how to spot disinformation, the ethics of publishing, and how to handle hate speech and counter a rumour in its first hour.

The Foundation's first project

Miftah Media

An independent media platform covering Palestinian refugees in Syria.

The Foundation funds Miftah Media and does not intervene in its editorial work. Editorial decisions rest with the editorial board alone.

Visit Miftah Media ↗

02 — Theory of change

How training turns into impact

٠١ProblemThe rumour outruns the correction

Community pages on social media are the first source of news for many Syrians, and the people running them have never been trained to verify. In already fragile environments, a rumour damages relations between communities before it damages the information itself.

٠٢ApproachWe train both ends at once

We work on both ends of information at once. We train page admins and local correspondents in verification, and we train people in schools and community spaces to read what reaches them. And we do not deliver the training ourselves alone; we build a pool of trainers, each able to work independently.

٠٣EffectEvery check shortens the road

When the gatekeeper verifies before publishing, fewer claims enter the local environment. When the reader knows to ask where something came from, fewer of them are believed. Together, the two effects shorten the distance a rumour travels before it is stopped.

٠٤OutcomeBetter information, less harm

More accurate local information, less harm at moments of tension, and a contribution to social cohesion through Syria’s transitional period.

The conditionSelection is where it succeeds or fails

The training has to reach the people with real influence over their information environment, not the people who are easiest to reach. The relationships we built through Miftah Media are what make that selection possible, and they are why the two projects are not separate.

03 — How we work

We teach the method we work by

We verify, then publishWe verify everything we publish: the source of a story, photographs and video, and AI-generated material. When there is someone a claim can be put to, we put it to them before publication rather than after. This is the method we teach, because it is the method we work by.

We initiateWe do not wait to be asked for a training. We read the local information environment, identify where rumours are made and where they do harm, and go there.

We train trainersOur aim is a pool of qualified trainers, each able to deliver the training alone in a school, a centre, or a local institution. That is how the work scales without staying dependent on one team.

We correct in publicWe declare an error and correct it where it appeared. We have an editorial policy and a comment moderation policy, and we work to them.

04 — Legal status and governance

A registered association with an elected board

Institutional record

Registered name: Association Miftah Média
Legal form: Non-profit association in France — 1901 law
Registration no.: RNA W931030774
Founded: 25 October 2025

“Miftah Foundation” is the association's working name. We provide institutional funders with quarterly narrative and financial reports.

The editorial policy, the code of conduct and the comment moderation policy are available on request, as are financial statements and funder references.

We teach people how to read what they are told.