Since 2017 the project “Scientific Storytelling” aims at supporting science journalism in Egypt and other Arab countries, promoting it in the public eye, and counteracting fake news.
In the realm of this project, several workshops for journalists interested in covering scientific topics have taken place. To make the work of this programme available to journalists in reporting on science and create a reference for the alumni of this project, a training manual was created which highlights themes that have always been particular challenges to journalists covering science. Writing features and the utilisation of sources and references are abilities any journalist will need to have.
There are also challenges that are more recent in nature and have either undermined the trust in journalism as an independent source of news or have a such a fundamental impact on our societies that accurate and informed reporting is more prescient than ever: the spread of pseudoscience and fake news is such a challenge that has been greatly amplified by the availability of social media. While at the same time the corona pandemic has made accurate reporting ever more important. This manual gives insight into these challenges and how journalists can try to address them.
The training manual is available in Arabic, English and French and can be downloaded here:
