Facebook launches Safety Resources for MENA Journalists

Facebook Safety for Journalists Guide now available in Arabic

September 4th, 2017, Dubai, UAE:  As part of the Facebook Journalism Project‘s goal to provide training and tools for journalists, Facebook launched Facebook Safety for Journalists. 

Working in consultation with the European Journalism Centre, the Committee to Protect Journalists, ConnectSafely, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, Facebook created resources designed specifically for journalists to help them protect their accounts and themselves on the platform.

A dedicated page to the Facebook for Journalists website has also been introduced, to provide information for journalists on topics relating to online safety, such as how to turn on two-factor authentication, manage privacy settings, moderate comments, block harassment, control location sharing, help protect communications, report abusive content and impersonation, and respond to being hacked.

In addition, a Facebook Safety for Journalists Guide has been created on these topics as well, which will be available in the coming weeks in multiple languages including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.

On the site, journalists will also find instructional videos that have been produced in partnership with the European Journalism Centre that focus on best practices for safety on Facebook.

Since the start of the year, during Facebook Journalism Project News Day events across the globe, Facebook has shared information designed to help people stay safe on Facebook. It has also hosted the first in a series of research roundtables for journalists and social media managers to discuss their experiences of online harassment, with one session specifically devoted to female journalists.

This is just the beginning. Facebook acknowledges that there is more that can be done, and is committed to helping ensure that journalists feel safe on Facebook as they connect their audiences with the stories that they find meaningful. The online platform will continue to work on these important efforts and plans to share more in the coming months.

To learn more about Facebook Safety for Journalists, please visit facebook.com/journalists. To get additional resources about Facebook’s policies and tools, visit the Facebook Safety Center at facebook.com/safety. We will share updates in Facebook’s News, Media and Publishing group and on the Facebook Journalism Project Page.