What unites journalists, students, and university lecturers from different parts of Western Kazakhstan? A shared motivation to counter disinformation and master the tools of fact-checking! With this goal in mind, an intensive fact-checking training was held in Atyrau from April 8 to 10, 2025, for journalists, students, and faculty. A total of 27 participants from Atyrau, Aktau, and nearby districts took part.

Over the course of three days, participants learned key fact-checking techniques, including working with open sources, advanced internet search methods, verification of photos and videos (including those generated with artificial intelligence), deconstruction of propaganda, prebunking strategies, and the structure of writing fact-checking articles.

The training was organized by the International Center for Journalism MediaNet with the support of the Nippon Foundation.

We express our sincere gratitude to Salamat Nurmukhanuly Idrisov, Rector of Kh. Dosmukhamedov Atyrau University, for providing the venue for the training and to the university staff for their assistance and support throughout the event.

This event marked an important milestone in the development of a network of media-literate professionals capable of combating disinformation in the western regions of Kazakhstan.