Rebwar Hama Hussein holds a Higher Diploma in Journalism and is a News Media Specialist with extensive experience across television, radio, press, and digital media. Since beginning his career in 2005, he has worked with various media outlets in the Kurdistan Region, focusing on news reporting, media production, and editorial responsibilities. Rebwar currently works as part of the news input team at Channel 8, where he continues to support news operations.
The Kurdish media landscape is relatively young, with its development occurring in condensed phases. Following the 1991 uprising in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), the media environment began to take shape. The foundation of the first television channel was laid on September 11, 1991. In the coming years, numerous local television channels, newspapers, and radio stations emerged, ushering in a period of growth and improvement.
By 1999, the first Kurdish satellite channel began broadcasting. However, this shift soon gave way to changes in media consumption patterns. Traditional outlets such as radio and newspapers began to lose their audiences; a global trend in which television itself later fell behind the internet and digital communication technologies. Today, mobile phones serve as the primary channel through which readers access news. Yet, trust in the media has eroded. Control over the quality of news and information has weakened, and the prevalence of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation has increased, especially across unregulated social media platforms.
One of the most pressing challenges facing Kurdish media today is information disorder. Media outlets have an urgent responsibility to uphold the principles of ethical journalism, ensuring the dissemination of accurate, fact-checked information. Social media, unfortunately, has evolved into a marketplace where the pursuit of likes and comments often overshadows the commitment to accuracy. As a result, distinguishing news from fabricated content has become difficult.
Responsible journalism is delivering news based on verified information and credible sources. However, every day, hundreds of news articles are published either without sources or derived from secondary, unreliable sources, often without any thorough investigation or fact-checking. For example, at the beginning of May, the Ministry of Health mistakenly announced a case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). Many media outlets hastily published the announcement without verifying the information with ministry officials or spokespersons. It later emerged that the report was inaccurate.
News about public sector salaries often follows similar patterns, frequently citing sources within the Iraqi Ministry of Finance. Rather than seeking confirmation from officials, numerous outlets replicate the information once it appears on a single page or website, propagating unverified claims. Another notable example involved false claims about a well-known television presenter allegedly suffering from cancer. Several accounts and pages circulated the story without verification. The presenter subsequently appeared in public to refute the claims.
Information disorder is a global phenomenon that is inherently difficult to control. However, the establishment of clear legal frameworks, national media corporations, and effective government regulatory agencies can mitigate the spread of false information. For example, in the United Kingdom, the BBC serves as a national media corporation and is widely regarded by British news consumers as a relatively unbiased and trusted source. Similarly, countries such as Iraq and Turkey maintain official government-affiliated news outlets that provide an authoritative channel for information dissemination.
In contrast, the KRI, as a non-sovereign entity, lacks a national media institution. Instead, the media landscape operates under two key legislative instruments, which are the Access to Information Law and the Journalism Law. Most media outlets in the KRI are partisan-owned, financially supported, and editorially influenced by political parties.
Nevertheless, the presence of a broad network of reporters and human resources within the media sector enables outlets to access sources more readily and to compare authentic information against fabricated ones. For example, at Channel 8, a clear set of verification criteria is applied to assess the credibility of news. For local stories, these include direct follow-up with field reporters and obtaining official statements from relevant authorities. For international news, if a reporter is present at the scene, the channel relies on first-hand information provided by its reporter. In the absence of an on-site reporter, the channel conducts fact-checking through official statements issued by recognized and credible agencies. When neither of these options is available, Channel 8 turns to global fact-checking agencies to which the channel subscribes.
Professional media organizations that adhere to journalistic ethics do not disseminate news or information to audiences without thorough fact-checking and verification of source accuracy. In the KRI, a clear set of procedures must be followed to fact-check information, rather than converting unverified claims into news stories.
Within any credible media outlet, the responsibility for verifying incidents lies with both the newsroom and field reporters. The first step in the verification process is to contact relevant government officials, such as representatives from the local administration, security forces, or health authorities, in the jurisdiction where the incident has occurred. Following this, a reporter is dispatched to the scene to gather firsthand evidence, including photographs and video footage, ensuring the information is accurate.
In cases where incidents occur in remote or media-restricted areas, journalists must rely solely on official information provided by government authorities. A clear example of such limitation can be seen in recent years, during periods of conflict between the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army. Missile attacks targeting locations such as Erbil and the Khor Mor gas field presented significant challenges for direct media coverage. In such scenarios, access to the affected areas was restricted. Consequently, media outlets were compelled to rely primarily on official statements and verified reports to inform the public.
Amid the fast-paced and highly competitive environment of Kurdish media, finding accurate, fact-checked news supported by reliable data has become difficult. This challenge stems largely from the intense competition among media outlets, each striving to attract the largest possible audience of readers and viewers. As a consequence of this rivalry, the overall quality of news and information has deteriorated. In many cases, outlets resort to sensationalizing private aspects of individuals’ lives in pursuit of higher engagement through likes, comments, and shares.
Any media organization that aspires to uphold professional standards must refrain from being drawn into the tumult of social media-driven competition, avoiding the temptation to lower its editorial standards to match those of unregulated pages and accounts. To establish and maintain an effective fact-checking system, media outlets should focus on several key strategies, such as developing the professional capacity of their journalists through continuous training and education, cultivating a strong sense of journalistic responsibility and ethical awareness within their teams, and establishing dedicated information monitoring units to scrutinize published content.
However, not all media organizations in the KRI are equipped to meet these standards. Many outlets face significant economic challenges and suffer from a lack of sufficient financial support, which limits their ability to maintain a robust staff of qualified journalists. As a result, these outlets often neglect fact-checking and rely heavily on republishing secondary, pre-circulated news. This practice diminishes their role as original sources of information, effectively relegating them to mere messengers rather than credible producers of news.
Technological advancements have transformed the media landscape, particularly in the areas of news production, reporting, and access to information. Today, journalists are able to capture photographs, write articles, edit videos, and publish content directly from their mobile phones, reaching wide audiences with unprecedented speed. In contrast, producing a news story accompanied by video footage in the past required substantial human resources, extensive equipment, and considerable time, while its distribution capacity was limited and rarely reached the broader public.
However, despite technological facilitations, the level of public trust in media has not increased proportionally. In earlier times, radio broadcasts alone were sufficient to shape public opinion. Now, even with the proliferation of advanced technologies and a multitude of media platforms, public confidence in the disseminated news remains fragile.
The advent of AI presents a similarly complex duality for the media sector. Globally, opinions are divided on AI’s positive and negative implications, and the media is no exception. On the one hand, when used responsibly, AI can greatly enhance journalism by streamlining research, improving access to information, and simplifying the creation and production of news reports. On the other hand, AI poses significant risks, notably through its potential to generate misleading content such as deepfakes and fabricated news stories.
Within the Kurdish media landscape, some outlets have begun to cautiously experiment with AI, leveraging its capabilities to support research efforts, improve information gathering, and facilitate more efficient news production and reporting.
For a media outlet to evolve from a traditional model into a truly professional and modern institution, it must continuously adapt to technological advancements and utilize emerging communication tools. Staying relevant in today’s fast-changing media landscape requires not only upgrading technical infrastructure but also investing in human capital.
Continuous professional development programs for presenters, journalists, and editorial staff are essential to ensure they remain at the forefront of technological innovations and journalistic practices.
Moreover, a professional media organization should prioritize strengthening its capacity to gather information directly from primary and authoritative sources, particularly for domestic news coverage. For international news, it should establish reliable partnerships and rely on reputable global news agencies to ensure accuracy, credibility, and comprehensive coverage.