The U.S. Consulate General in Erbil of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a program to build capacity among social media influencers, journalists, and journalism students in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) and Kirkuk governorate.
Program Objectives
The rise of AI-generated disinformation poses significant concerns to the ability of the public and media to fairly and accurately report on current events, given the ability of bots to spread information, and deepfakes to make it extraordinarily difficult to tell truth from fiction – putting democracy itself at risk. This program will train 15 social media influencers and 100 newly minted journalists (fewer than 5 years of service) or journalism students on how AI is used to produce and disseminate disinformation, how to recognize disinformation, and how to explain this in clear language to their audiences without scare tactics, in a way that empowers audiences rather than demoralizes them. Influencers should, as a result, create at least two pieces of unique content on disinformation for their audiences; journalists and journalism students should write and publish at least two stories on disinformation.
Funding Information
Total available funding: $80,000
Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $80,000
Length of performance period: up to 12 months
Number of awards anticipated: 1 award
Participants and Audiences
This program envisions two separate trainings: one focused on 15 significant social media influencers (minimum numbers of followers to be determined), and one for 100 journalism students or journalists with fewer than 5 years of service.
Priority Region
Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Priority will be given to projects which include audiences from outside the three major cities of Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimani.
Eligibility Criteria
The following organizations are eligible to apply:
Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/nongovernmental organizations
Public and private educational institutions
Public International Organizations
In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number.
Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.
