up on everything that is circulated by the media, and the response is published through the center through all available means” (Magdi 2019; authors’ translation). Despite our repeated attempts, Zaghloul did not grant us an interview. The center’s social media pages show great interactions on the posts that refute rumors. However, a closer look shows that many of the comments are not related to the rumors being refuted; rather, the comments are complaints by Egyptian citizens about different issues in the country, or contain criticism or praise of the Egyptian leadership. 6.5 SAUDI ARABIA: A FAKE NEWS DETECTION CHALLENGE In March 2021, the Vision Realization Office of the Saudi Ministry of Information launched a challenge to detect fake news in the media and on digital platforms (see Table 11). The challenge aims to generate innovative, legislative, and awarenessfocused solutions to limit the spread of fake news. It targeted media professionals and academics as well as researchers in various media fields and university students in technical and media majors. We tried to communicate with the Vision Realization Office to learn more about the challenge and the ministry’s efforts to combat mis- and disinformation, but we received no response. We were thus unable to monitor any national policy or Saudi government initiative to combat information disorder. 6.6 OTHER INITIATIVES Other Arab countries have also launched initiatives. For example, the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior launched an initiative for combating rumors in 2015, in the form of a Facebook page (see Table 11). It focuses on monitoring rumors circulating on the websites of media outlets and on social networking sites in Iraq. This raises important questions: How effective is the intervention of a security entity, such as the Ministry of the Interior, in a civil issue such as combating the spread of mis- and disinformation? And could this be used as a means of silencing government critics? In 2020, the Omani government also launched a guide for dealing with rumors and false and misleading news (Omaninfo 2019). This was a part of the objectives of the 2019 and 2020 government communication plan targeted at Omani citizens. I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH The guide tackles the concepts of rumors and false and misleading news. It explains how to deal with these and discusses the attendant legal aspects. 6.7 ENSURING ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN THE ARAB WORLD: WHERE ARE WE TODAY? Not all of the initiatives launched by government organizations in Arab countries have achieved their desired goals. This is especially so in countries that do not enjoy freedom of opinion and expression or freedom of the press, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where the state controls the entire media sector and attempts to suppress the few independent media outlets. It is clear that Arab governments do not give the issue of combating mis- and disinformation the priority it deserves given the difficult political and economic circumstances. Many questions arise about the extent to which citizens trust the existing official initiatives and whether these only refute rumors that may harm the government. Questions can also be raised regarding the credibility of the content published by these initiatives, especially since Arab regimes may themselves be sources of disinformation. This may happen through the regime’s control over information, its failure to guarantee the right to access information, and its attempt to protect itself from any criticism, especially when popular movements rise up against it and during periods of elections and crises. The best action governments can take to mitigate the spread of mis- and disinformation is to ensure freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and the universal right of access to information, and to allow information to circulate freely. Across the region, interviewees confirmed that the difficulty they experience in accessing information greatly hampers their fact-checking work. Often, journalists are unable to work on certain cases because of the difficulty of obtaining information about them, and fact checkers are forced to stop checking some content because of similar challenges. So far, only seven Arab countries have adopted legislation guaranteeing the right to access information through official organs. These are Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Yemen, Sudan, and Kuwait.27 Laws exist in these countries, but complaints are continuously lodged by global and local organizations as well as by journalists and researchers about gaps in the legislation and about the failure to fully enforce it. Middle East and North Africa – 50