how much the platform costs and what has been accomplished since its creation.24 The platform is currently managed by only three part-time government employees. The administrator, Hamza Basbous, confirmed that the most significant challenge it faces as a government platform is the issue of people’s confidence in the information it provides, “despite the great care taken to ensure accuracy and credibility.” The platform’s official nature also limits “its ability to tackle all kinds of rumors, as it focuses mainly on rumors related to official issues” (interview, June 2021). Basbous explained that the platform is currently under development. He stressed that “official efforts alone are not enough to counter the danger of rumors and false news. This is a participatory and social responsibility that everyone should help to bear from their various positions, whether in the government, in the private sector, or as members of civil society.” 6.3 KUWAIT: TAHAQAQ In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information launched the Tahaqaq platform as part of an awareness-raising campaign to combat rumors.25 This platform is different from others in the Arab region in that it does not fact check the information itself, but instead involves Kuwaiti citizens in the process. This is achieved by introducing people to fact-checking skills and the available tools and asking them to verify the content themselves so that the results can be posted on the website. The user learns about content verification tools through educational videos and links to content published by a number of ministries. There are also links for communicating with the WHO via WhatsApp as a source of news about Covid-19. The site allows visitors to check any image or video and to send their feedback for publication by including a picture of the rumor, a picture of the correction, the text of the rumor, the text of the correct information, an explanation of how it was verified, and the source of the rumor. This campaign is important because it allows the public to personally participate in the process of combating mis- and disinformation and encourages citizens to combat information disorder from home. However, the interaction of Kuwaitis with the campaign has not been very good, as the website only shows a small number of news pieces verified by citizens. I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH Abdul-Aziz Al-Janahi is the former head of the Initiatives Committee in the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information and the founder of the campaign. He said, “Often, government agencies or institutions carry out the task of verifying misleading news, but we have given citizens the opportunity to verify the news for themselves. This reflects a communal partnership between the state and individuals” (interview, June 2021). Al-Janahi pointed out that sustainability was not the focus of this project. Its success “can be measured by the fact that we have added new investigating citizens who have acquired skills in this area. Success is not necessarily gauged by receiving many posts verified by citizens.” We were not able to find any civil society initiative or organization focused on fact checking in Kuwait, and Al-Janahi points out that there is no genuine national effort to address information disorder in the country. 6.4 EGYPT: INFORMATION AND DECISION SUPPORT CENTER The Information and Decision Support Center was established in the Egyptian Cabinet in 1985 in order to support decision makers to make effective public policies in a participatory manner.26 The center publishes research, studies, data, and reports. Recently, it has been issuing reports that refute rumors spread on social media sites or on electronic platforms in Egypt. This is done through communicating with official authorities. The center identifies controversial topics on social media and news sites and follows up on reactions to these topics. The center then analyses the topics and responses to clarify the facts. These reports are published via videos or photos on the accounts of the Egyptian Cabinet and on the social media pages of the Information and Decision Support Center. In a 2019 press report, Na’ayem Zaghloul, the head of the Media Center of the Egyptian Cabinet, said, “There is a group of highly skilled youthful researchers, working inside the center to counter rumors over the course of 24 hours. They follow Middle East and North Africa – 49