LOADING
GAZA INTERACTIVE PLATFORM
AI-Driven Storytelling
OVERVIEW
The Gaza Interactive Platform is a digital storytelling experience designed to help audiences understand the war on Gaza through space, time and verified data. Built to support Al Jazeera’s editorial standards, the platform enables layered, map-based exploration of events as they unfold. It introduces AI-powered interactivity so users can ask questions about locations, events and timelines and receive detailed answers drawn from trustworthy Al Jazeera reporting. The platform also offers live updates, allowing audiences to track developments moment by moment.
ID8 Media developed this immersive platform to enhance Al Jazeera’s digital journalism capabilities, transforming complex, evolving conflict data into a structured, interactive and accessible experience while countering misinformation with verified sources.
CLIENT IN FOCUS
Al Jazeera Media Network is one of the world’s leading international news organizations, known for its in-depth reporting, investigative journalism and commitment to contextual storytelling. As digital consumption evolves, Al Jazeera continues to invest in platforms that strengthen editorial control while expanding how audiences engage with news.
CHALLENGE
- Contextualize events across both geography and time.
- Maintain strict editorial control and accuracy while distinguishing between verified reporting and misinformation.
- Present complex data in a user-friendly and accessible format with AI-powered capabilities.
- Support real-time updates without compromising performance or reliability.
The challenge was to build a platform that balanced immersion with journalistic rigor and gave users confidence in the authenticity of the information they explored.
APPROACH
ID8 Media designed an editorial-first platform architecture that empowers producers to control how stories are structured, visualized and updated. The approach focused on modular storytelling, allowing events to be layered through timelines, maps and visual comparisons.
To foster deeper engagement, the team incorporated an AI chat assistant powered by large language models so users can ask context-sensitive questions about the war and receive responses based on verified data. This ensured flexibility for journalists while maintaining a consistent and intuitive user experience, and provided a safeguard against misinformation.
EXECUTION & DELIVERABLES
To support real-time journalism, the platform was built using modern, scalable technologies and features that include:
- Chronological storylines: Time-based narratives for chronological exploration.
- Geotagged interactive maps: Spatial context via map-based experiences that link each location to the latest reporting and background articles from Al Jazeera.
- AI chat assistant: A conversational tool that interprets user questions and delivers detailed answers based on verified data, while flagging and correcting misinformation.
- Image comparison tools: Visual interfaces that illustrate change over time.
- Responsive design: Cross-device accessibility for web and mobile users.
All content is dynamically rendered to ensure speed, accuracy and consistency.
TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION
Built with Next.js and hosted on Google Cloud Platform, the Gaza Interactive Platform delivers reliable performance at scale. It uses Mapbox GL for mapping and Sanity CMS for content management, allowing editorial teams to manage data centrally while delivering rich, immersive experiences to audiences worldwide. An AI engine processes natural language queries and surfaces relevant data, ensuring that every answer draws from trusted sources.
Our Role
ID8 Media led the platform strategy, user experience design, technical architecture and implementation. Our role focused on aligning editorial needs with advanced visualization technologies, delivering a platform that supports both journalistic integrity and audience engagement.
Results & Impact
The Gaza Interactive Platform is designed to increase user engagement through immersive interaction and to improve clarity around complex conflict data. By integrating an AI chat assistant and linking map locations to relevant articles, the platform enables audiences to explore the story in depth while trusting that all responses are drawn from verified Al Jazeera reporting. Live update feeds keep viewers informed moment by moment, and the AI chat assistant helps flag and correct misinformation. Collectively, these elements demonstrate Al Jazeera’s vision for leadership in AI-driven conflict storytelling and interactive journalism.
Key Takeaways
Interactive platforms can deepen understanding when built with editorial control at their core. This project demonstrates how structured data, thoughtful design and scalable technology can transform how complex stories are told and preserved.