Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) has conducted training for journalists, students, staff, and civil society as part of the Disinformation Resilience Israel (DRI) project, supported by the European Union. A central focus of the DRI project is increasing the capacity of civil society organizations and media outlets to effectively tackle disinformation and misinformation on social media platforms and communication channels.
Newsroom Training for Journalists
Between December 2024 and March 2025, ISOC-IL held six newsroom training sessions for 88 journalists from leading public, commercial, and independent newsrooms, with 50% women and 10 Arabic‑speaking participants. The sessions focused on responsible journalism, fact-checking, digital verification, and detecting image and video manipulation, strengthening the capacity of media outlets and civil society to counter misinformation and disinformation.
Participating newsrooms included Shakuf, The Seventh Eye, Ha‑Makom.co.il, KAN 11, Local Call, Channel 12 News, Haaretz, Channel 13 News, and Shomrim. Systematic monitoring and evaluation, including pre‑training competency assessments, ongoing feedback, and post‑training questionnaires, enabled ISOC‑IL to tailor content in real time and refine future workshops. Participants highlighted the practical value of the sessions and showed interest in future training sessions.
Journalist Fellowship Flagship Program
From May to October 2025, ISOC‑IL ran the Journalist Fellowship Flagship Program, also referred to as the ‘Digital Desk’ program, a flagship nine‑meeting program for 17 journalists that combined advanced digital investigation skills with ongoing mentoring and peer learning. Fellows practiced verification, social media monitoring, AI‑assisted investigations, data organization, digital security, and source verification, while developing concrete projects for their newsrooms.
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with participants reporting they have already integrated tools into their day‑to‑day work. Suggestions for improvement focused on more hands-on practice, deeper dives into specific tools and databases, and follow‑up sessions to continue skill‑building over time. Read our announcement on the successful conclusion of the program here.
Training Future Journalists
In May 2025, ISOC‑IL delivered a two‑part mini‑course for 55 undergraduate media students in the journalism track at Tel Aviv University, introducing core concepts of verification, digital investigations, and ethical reporting in the online information environment. The group included Arabic‑speaking students, reflecting ISOC‑IL’s commitment to gender and linguistic diversity in media education.
Building Internal Capacity at ISOC‑IL
In November 2025, ISOC‑IL adapted its Digital Desk practical workshop for its own staff, running two internal sessions tailored to different levels of prior knowledge. A beginners’ workshop and an advanced workshop engaged 24 employees from across the organization.
Led by ISOC‑IL’s Disinformation and Digital Investigations Lead, Nitsan Yasur, the workshops covered Israel’s online information environment, disinformation actors and methods, digital investigative capabilities, advanced search and social media monitoring, visual verification, investigation of online promotions, and organization and archiving of digital findings. These sessions strengthened ISOC‑IL’s internal capacity to support partners and respond to emerging information challenges across its projects.
Digital Desk training for Arab journalists
In November 2025, ISOC‑IL held a dedicated Digital Desk training day for Arab journalists and media professionals in Nazareth, in cooperation with the Union of Journalists and the I’lam Organization (Arab Center for Media Freedom, Development and Research). The event brought together 15 participants for a workshop combining fact‑checking and digital investigations with online safety for journalists.
ISOC‑IL’s Nitsan Yasur led a practical session in Hebrew on digital investigations and verification, while Marketing and Digital Strategist Anas Abu Daabs led an Arabic‑language workshop on online safety and protection from digital threats. During the event, I’lam announced its new Arabic fact‑checking initiative in Israel and invited participants to collaborate, while ISOC‑IL’s Arab Society Coordinator, Dima Assad Nicola, presented activities aimed at narrowing media gaps and highlighted the Expert Forum’s work, fostering new partnerships and future joint activities.
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