Editor's Note: Since the publication of this story, NDI has established the INFO/tegrity Initiative to identify and disseminate practical information on the use of disinformation in democratic politics. Read more about that initiative here.

The armed conflict in Syria has left more than 400,000 dead, led to 6.3 million internally displaced people, and has forced at least 5 million refugees to flee the country. Syrian citizens are caught in a cycle of security, humanitarian, and political crises that have left their communities in disorder and without governance.