Youth start-up summit addresses online misinformation risks

AMMAN — The Holoul X Hakkerha summit, held by the Search for Common Ground Organisation, saw the launch of four innovative, youth-led start-ups to counter online misinformation and disinformation on Thursday, with funding from the US Department of State.

The initiative aims to empower young women and men to take on an active role in developing innovative solutions to the online challenges of disinformation and misinformation.

The Search for Common Ground Organisation, in collaboration with Tech Tribes, is a Jordan-based nonprofit that aims to equip youth with skills and technical knowledge.  

The foundational idea behind each start-up tackles the risks of misinformation and disinformation. The projects were awarded sub-grants to support the development of their products.

During the summit, representatives of each start-up briefed attendees about their projects. 

The first start-up was a menstrual cycle education project titled “Zumoroda”. The aim of this project is to address misinformation surrounding menstrual cycles in rural areas of Jordan and particularly in Al Mafraq Governorate, in the northern areas of Jordan. 

The start-up proposed allocating sanitary products for women in Mafraq, each unit of which will be accompanied by a QR code to ensure access to medically accurate information to ensure women’s access to health in the governorate. 

The second start-up was called “Cyber Clinic”, and proposed to create five awareness videos on cyber security and digital safety skills.

“Ask a doctor” was the name of the third start-up, which aims to reduce the risks of using the internet as a source for home remedies and medical information. 

“No Filter”, the  fourth start-up, seeks to develop visual content targeting adolescents aged 12-18 to raise their awareness around misinformation and disinformation disseminated by “influencers” on social media. These videos are intended to be posted on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. 

“We need to continue to invest in digital tools for the public good,” Thaer Al Kiswani, an expert in social work, said during the summit. 

Kiswani emphasised the importance of the digital content industry in enhancing and enriching alternative discourse in the digital space.

“There is a constant need for youth-driven entrepreneurial projects to raise awareness among young people about the importance of digital security,” said Saja Abu Zayda from the project “Cyber Clinic” during the summit.