Libyan News Agency (WAL)

The Libyan News Agency (WAL) was established in 1964 through a government decree. The agency changed its name several times during its history. It operated as Jamahiriya News Agency before the 2011 regime change when it was renamed as Libyan News Agency. An eponymous competing news agency was operated by the self-declared Tobruk government, which was not recognized by the international community. Later, the agency was led by the Government of National Unity, which was formed in 2021. In March 2021, the two agencies operating under the same name were merged into one institution.


Media assets

WAL

State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)


Ownership and governance

WAL was re-established in 2011 based on a decision of the Executive Office of the Transitional National Council. Since then, WAL has operated as an agency affiliated to the GNA, according to local journalists and experts. There are no available documents about the ownership of WAL. Journalists and experts who work on Libya say that the decision to appoint the management of WAL lies entirely with the government.

Source of funding and budget

There are no publicly available documents about the funding of WAL. According to documents from Altai Consulting, a research group that used to map the media outlets in Libya, as well as journalists and experts who work on Libya, WAL was entirely funded by the Government of National Accord (GNA) until the formation of the Government of National Unity in March 2021 Since then, the agency has been funded entirely by the newly created government. In Libya, in fact, in the absence of a functional market, the only two sources of funding in the media are the government (the political forces behind various self-declared governments) and international grants (from either institutional donors or philanthropies).

Editorial independence

According to various independent sources, journalists and experts who work on Libya and an informal content analysis, WAL’s editorial policy is overtly in favor of the government (GNA). The agency was reformed after the regime change in 2011 with a specific mission to act as a voice of the GNA, promoting the agenda of the newly created government, according to local journalists and experts.

There is no domestic statute and no independent assessment or oversight mechanism that would validate WAL’s editorial independence.

August 2023