Iraqi press freedom group warns cabinet decision could shut 20 newspapers

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A Baghdad-based press freedom group warned on Monday that a cabinet decision to publish all public tenders and state advertisements on a single electronic platform could force around 20 Iraqi newspapers out of business. The Nahil Center for Press Freedoms and Rights said the directive would hit a print sector already operating under severe financial conditions and heavily dependent on official advertising and tender notices. The group warned that the move would be particularly damaging to smaller and independent publications that rely on such revenue to stay afloat. The center also stressed the continuing importance of printed newspapers for information access, especially among older readers with limited ability to use digital tools, and said the risk of misinformation on online platforms leaves that group further exposed. Earlier, Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaydi had instructed that the transition to the new platform proceed in line with a set of regulations and that all previously granted exemptions be scrapped.