Yalla is one of the largest independent social media platforms in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, occupying a distinct space in the Iraqi social media landscape and addressing critical issues concerning Iraqi youths. Yalla is committed to addressing youth grievances and unemployment, as well as highlighting youth agency and success stories. Yalla engages young people in discussions about lifestyle and personal liberties, as well as beliefs and society. Yalla promotes meaningful debate on critical issues by pushing boundaries while respecting individual thought. In doing so, Yalla creates online communities to bridge the nation’s divides across a variety of thematic areas.

Yalla was founded in 2015 by young Iraqi journalists in order to present a realistic story free of the constraints of political support that governs the majority of Iraqi media platforms.

Yalla now has over 5 million followers. %92 of its followers are inside Iraq and %35 of the followers are women. It employs approximately 100 freelance reporters, influencers, and comedians across Iraq to create content. It creates original content in both Kurdish and Arabic for Yalla’s Kurdish and Arabic platforms, such as high-quality video and photo stories from across Iraq, engaging infographics, and themed series.

Yalla is a trusted and reliable source for young people, promoting a culture of non-extremism and non-sectarianism while embracing messages of coexistence, resilience, and female empowerment. Yalla, which is well-known for its social activism, aims to inspire young people to better themselves and their communities by creating positive examples of youth engagement and agency both online and offline, connecting large volunteer networks across Iraq to mobilize youth activism for positive change in events such as festivals, community service campaigns, and cultural exchanges.

Yalla differs from other Iraqi media platforms in that it is not only editorially but also financially independent. And for young Iraqis, Yalla is the most trusted and reliable source of information.

But in Iraq there is a price a media has to pay for being independent. The main challenges have always been staying independent without taking aside any political and non-political groups while continuing the support for Iraqi youth. There is also the challenge of finding sustainable financial support in order to continue to maintain and develop Yalla.