Tech4Peace

The challenge of digital rights and security in a conflict zone

In a world where online threats and disinformation can have devastating consequences, Tech4Peace is committed to promoting digital rights and access to the truth. Founded in 2016, this grassroots organization began its journey with the aim of stopping the spread of false information in Iraq.

The group’s flagship resources include:

• An app that allows users to fact-check pictures, videos, and text
• An online learning platform to help individuals and organizations to learn fact-checking and improve their security posture
• A helpline focused on the digital security of activists, journalists, women, and many others

Since starting the helpline in 2023, Tech4Peace has managed more than 3,000 cases in the first year, assisting individuals from countries including Iraq, the US, Ukraine, India, the UK, Syria, Tunisia, Jordan, Turkey, Morocco, the UAE, and Libya. Cases surround issues such as hacking, blackmailing, hate speech, and sextortion.

As Founder and President Aws Al-Saadi describes the mission, “To make everyone Tech4Peace means for us that people think twice before they share fake news or hate speech and that people are aware of their digital rights and digital safety.”

With this in mind, the group aims to build awareness through capacity building, campaigns, advocacy, research, fact-checking, technical innovation, and other efforts. The group’s slogan, “It ends with us,” reflects their commitment to exposing lies and addressing issues sparked by rumors.

Tech4Peace's success is rooted in its dedicated team of volunteers. The organization shares its knowledge and expertise by providing training on digital rights, digital security, social media peacebuilding, leadership, and fact-checking.

The risks of criticizing the status quo

The organization’s mission comes with its own set of challenges; Tech4Peace has faced resistance and digital threats over the years, with the risks escalating since Iraq's October Revolution in 2019. Al-Saadi says that the group’s proximity to demonstrations — a necessity given their fact-checking efforts — has resulted in security dangers.

"Digital threats can come in different forms — for instance, via spyware, hacking of accounts, or attacks on our website. It is important that Tech4Peace secures ourselves against those threats," notes Al-Saadi.

Before joining Project Galileo, Tech4Peace had relied on the Cloudflare Free plan for multiple years. However, two major DDoS attacks in July 2022, one of which involved 4.6 million requests from 146 different countries, caused the website and fact-checking app to go down for a few hours.

Since the organization’s work is mostly done online, avoiding outages is essential. In Iraq in particular, Al-Saadi says people rely on the app and fact-checking platform for news. “Our web presence is essential to our mission, as it helps us to share knowledge and build awareness,” he says.

Speed is also a concern, he notes. “Dangerous disinformation and hate speech can spread very fast, so both need to be stopped as soon as possible.”

After learning about Project Galileo from a Cloudflare employee at the 2024 Summit for Democracy in Seoul, Al-Saadi submitted an application and was approved. Tech4Peace received a free upgrade to the Business plan to improve their digital defenses. The group’s current priorities include taking action against DDoS attacks, system hacking, and content manipulation.

"Without Cloudflare's protection, our website and app would be vulnerable to attacks, potentially impeding our ability to provide timely and reliable information to those who need it most and hindering our efforts to solve urgent cases via the helpline, especially those relating to journalists, activists, and women facing gender-based violence," explains Al-Saadi.