Demonstrating its continued commitment to addressing emerging drivers of conflict, the Nordic Center for Conflict Transformation (NCCT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the newly established Mediterranean Observatory for Information Integrity during the Observatory’s official launch event at the Press House in Tangier.

The event brought together journalists, lawyers, parliamentarians, civil society representatives, academics, and media professionals from across Morocco to discuss the growing challenges posed by disinformation, digital polarization, and the erosion of trust in today’s information ecosystem.

Established under the umbrella of the Mediterranean Association for Digital Press, the Mediterranean Observatory for Information Integrity aims to promote information integrity through research, monitoring, fact-checking, professional training, legal support, and technological innovation. Bringing together scientific, legal, and technical expertise, the Observatory seeks to strengthen public resilience against misleading content and contribute to a more informed, responsible, and trustworthy media environment across Morocco and the Mediterranean region.

Speaking during the launch, representatives of the Observatory emphasized that information integrity is not merely a media concern but a societal imperative that directly affects democratic participation, public trust, and social cohesion. The Observatory’s vision is rooted in the belief that access to reliable and trustworthy information is a fundamental right in the digital age and an essential condition for resilient and informed societies.

Nosrat Benammar, Executive Director of the Observatory, stressed that the observatory’s mission extends far beyond fact-checking and correcting false information.

“It is a human project that contributes to conflict transformation and the development of renewed societal awareness.”

Benammar further highlighted the Observatory’s commitment to what she described as “knowledge sovereignty”, an approach that goes beyond countering disinformation by promoting credible, constructive knowledge that empowers citizens to think critically and engage responsibly with information.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding marks an important step in strengthening cooperation between the Observatory and NCCT around the intersection of information integrity, conflict transformation, and societal resilience.

As an international organization dedicated to conflict transformation, prevention, mediation, and institutional resilience, NCCT increasingly views information integrity as a strategic peace and security issue. Drawing on its work across the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel, and Central Asia, the Center has consistently emphasized that contemporary conflicts are increasingly driven by narratives, polarization, and the manipulation of information long before they manifest as physical violence. Strengthening information integrity has therefore become an essential component of preventing conflict, fostering dialogue, and reinforcing resilient societies.

Presenting NCCT’s perspective on the evolving nature of contemporary conflicts, Executive Director Noufal Abboud highlighted the urgent need to better understand the relationship between information ecosystems and conflict dynamics in an increasingly polarized global environment. Referring to recent global conflict trends, he noted that information warfare, coordinated disinformation campaigns, hate speech, and online recruitment have become defining features of modern conflicts, reshaping how societies experience insecurity and division and requiring conflict transformation actors to engage well beyond traditional mediation and negotiation.

As he noted during his intervention:

“Peace is not built only at negotiation tables; it is also built in newsrooms, through every word that creates understanding rather than division.”

The newly signed Memorandum of Understanding establishes a framework for cooperation between NCCT and the Mediterranean Observatory for Information Integrity in areas of mutual interest, including information integrity, conflict prevention, media literacy, professional capacity building, research, knowledge production, and the promotion of responsible public discourse.

The partnership reflects a shared conviction that strengthening societal resilience requires cooperation across sectors. Journalists, researchers, legal experts, policymakers, and civil society organizations all have a vital role to play in fostering informed public dialogue, protecting the integrity of information, and countering narratives that fuel division and polarization.

For NCCT, this partnership represents an important step in advancing a broader vision of conflict transformation, one that recognizes information integrity as a prerequisite for resilient institutions, informed public dialogue, and sustainable peace. By combining the Observatory’s expertise in information integrity and media with NCCT’s experience in conflict transformation, mediation, institutional partnerships, and resilience-building, the two organizations seek to develop innovative responses to polarization, strengthen public trust, and contribute to more peaceful, inclusive, and resilient societies across the Mediterranean region and beyond.