Chengriha Calls on Those Running the Media to Show Greater Vigilance in Confronting Hybrid Wars

General of the Army Corps Saïd Chengriha, Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Defense and Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army (ANP), opened a national forum today, Sunday, at the National Army Club in Beni Messous. Titled “National Media and Hybrid Wars: Meeting the Challenges and Winning the Stakes,” the event was organized by the ANP General Staff’s Directorate of Information and Communication.
Attending were several ministers and advisers to the President of the Republic, the Commander of the Land Forces, the Secretary General of the Ministry of National Defense, force commanders, the commanders of the National Gendarmerie and the Republican Guard, the Director of the Cabinet at the Ministry, and the Commander of the First Military Region. Also present were senior officials from the Ministry and the ANP General Staff, directors of national media outlets, university presidents and academics.
In his opening address, Chengriha welcomed participants and praised the role of national media in building public awareness. He warned that hybrid warfare, in all its forms and tools, poses a growing threat by exploiting rapid advances in information and communication technologies to weaken the security of states and the cohesion of societies.
Socialization institutions, chiefly the media, he said, play a vital national role in fostering a public awareness grounded in prevention, one that strengthens the national, symbolic and moral foundations on which nations build their resilience.
Chengriha said Algeria, like many other countries, faces this type of warfare in the form of misleading media campaigns, fake news, manipulation of facts, cyberattacks and even sabotage campaigns. According to him, Algeria’s enemies and their media mouthpieces are seeking to sow doubt about the major achievements of the country’s renaissance project, carried out under the leadership of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Minister of National Defense.
He urged those in charge of the media sector to be more vigilant and to strengthen the national media strategy, notably by building practical frameworks to dismantle hostile media falsehoods and to shape a strong, objective national narrative.
He added that the ANP has always insisted on permanent vigilance and a full grasp of how these wars evolve and influence events. A proactive, preventive approach, he said, has allowed the country to thwart many hostile plots aimed at its social unity and cohesion, as well as its security and stability.
Chengriha then declared the forum officially open. Participants watched a documentary titled “National Media in the Age of Hybrid Wars: Challenges and Stakes,” produced by the ANP General Staff’s Directorate of Information and Communication.
Scheduled lectures followed, covering digital content and artificial intelligence and the strategy needed to respond to them, strategic vigilance and the strength of the national narrative against hybrid wars, and the state of the national media system and how to unify efforts in service of the country’s vital interests.
The lectures were accompanied by discussions and contributions from specialists and officials, whose ideas enriched the proceedings and will inform the forum’s recommendations.

Omar Tadrist