The College of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Baghdad, in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has launched a student hackathon aimed at developing innovative technological solutions to combat media disinformation, hate speech, and digital forgery using artificial intelligence technologies. The initiative seeks to harness the capabilities of young people in protecting the digital space and promoting the responsible use of technology.
The Dean of the College of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Baghdad, Prof. Dr. Diaa Jasim Kadhim, affirmed that the hackathon represents an opportunity to employ students’ abilities in developing smart solutions to confront media disinformation, digital forgery, and hate speech. He noted that cooperation with UNESCO enhances innovation and applied research and directs artificial intelligence technologies toward serving society and building a safer and more aware digital space.
For his part, the Communication and Information Sector Officer at UNESCO in Iraq, Dr. Diaa Thabit Maan, explained that the hackathon aims to invest in young people’s creative capabilities and to turn their ideas into practical projects that can be developed and applied. He affirmed that protecting freedom of expression and enhancing the safety of the digital space are complementary goals that responsible technology can help achieve.
The hackathon enables students and young innovators to submit technical ideas and projects, including developing applications to verify news and information, detecting fabricated images and videos, and monitoring hate speech and incitement, as well as creating interactive tools that strengthen critical thinking and awareness of how misleading content spreads across digital platforms.
The program includes training and mentoring stages, beginning with an introduction to the challenges of digital content and the mechanisms for preparing proposals, followed by practical training and the technical development of prototypes, and culminating in the presentation of projects before specialized committees to evaluate them and select the ideas that are most innovative, applicable, and socially impactful.
The initiative also seeks to strengthen cooperation among universities, research centers, young developers, and media and technology institutions, and to open the way for turning student innovations into sustainable tools for countering disinformation and hate speech and promoting peace and social cohesion.
This activity contributes to achieving a number of the Sustainable Development Goals, namely Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), in addition to Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
