December 10, 2023: A total of 105 journalists, including 51 men and 54 women, have been trained by Media Matters for Democracy on election reporting and countering disinformation. The training sessions were held in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar from October to November 2023.
The sessions, 2-day each, were designed specifically to address the following: a) improving the capacity of journalists to report on elections and electoral processes, b) equipping them with tools to counter hateful disinformation, and c) reporting on elections ethically and with a gendered lens. The sessions also featured a specific session on discussing the impact of hateful speech on minorities and vulnerable groups, and the strategies to counter and report on it.
During on the sessions, the participants worked in groups to brainstorm on possible story ideas and it allowed them to think beyond the conventional type of reporting.