ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (June 29, 2023) – Debunking disinformation and propaganda about the war in Ukraine is the plan of a Kazakhstan fact-checking group. A Polish organization is investing in new fact-checking formats, including infographics and short videos. Another organization will hire fact-checkers to expose misinformation in three West African countries.
All of these projects and many more will be funded through the first $875,000 in grants from the Global Fact Check Fund, which is run by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at the non-profit Poynter Institute and supported by a $13.2 million grant from Google and YouTube.
The IFCN on Thursday announced grant recipients from the Global Fact Check Fund’s BUILD phase, which aims to help fact-checking organizations scale or upgrade their online presence. A total of 35 organizations serving 45 countries were awarded $25,000 each for projects that will modernize websites, hire staff, train people to identify misinformation and many other initiatives to build their capacity. (Some of the awards are preliminary pending the submission of additional information).
“Misinformation is on the march in many parts of the world. This important funding will enable fact-checking organizations to become better at their work, stronger in their capabilities and wider in their reach,” said Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the IFCN. “That will pay dividends for the citizens of their countries by helping to support free and accurate expression and providing tools to critically assess the information they consume.”
The mission of the Fund is to strengthen and develop the operational, production and engagement capacities of local and regional media organizations to increase the quality, volume, frequency, scale and impact of fact-checking abilities and activities. From the original grant, $12 million will be disbursed to fact-checkers and the remainder supports the grants and monitoring process.
Over the course of three years and eight phases, the Fund will support eligible organizations to increase the level of professionalism in fact-checking associated with media outlets, as well as help citizens better assess what they see in mass media and social media.
Organizations that are signatories of the IFCN’s Code of Principles applied for the funding earlier this year, and the IFCN selected grantees in an open process. Recipients span the globe, from Africa, South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, with projects to be completed in a nine- to 12-month time frame.
Fact-checkers serving nearly 4 dozen countries receive grants
Among the projects receiving funding:
- MediaNet International Centre for Journalism Public Foundation in Kazakhstan is focused on fact-checking and misinformation about the war in Ukraine. It plans to create 32 short training videos to help educate audiences and prepare a misinformation toolkit with practical guides to fact-checking in two languages, Kazakh and Russian.
- Pravda Association Poland will be investing in new fact-checking formats such as short-form content that is easy to understand as well as infographics and videos to reach a wider audience and present complex information in an engaging way.
- Vishvas News of India plans to create a “Misleading Data Detector,” which involves building an open-access platform that will automate the process of fact-checking information and make it accessible to citizens, fact-checkers and marginalized communities.
- West Africa’s DUBAWA/Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development plans on hiring fact-checkers in the countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia with its grant. It will also scale the reach of its content by hiring a videographer and developing the operational, production and engagement capabilities of its entire workforce.
- Myth Detector in Georgia plans to boost the search-engine optimization on its website with the goal of expanding its reach.
- MindaNews in the Philippines will be expanding its fact-checking staff and improving its social media presence to combat fake news and misinformation in Muslim Mindanao.
Funding for the first BUILD phase was not exhausted through the standard award process, so the Global Fact Check Fund Steering Committee will review recommendations for distributing the remaining funds. The eight-member committee represents a wide range of geographies and experiences, including longtime members of the fact-checking community as well as emerging organizations and academia.
Coming soon will be phase two of the Fund’s programs, GROW, with applications opening August 1. $1 million is allotted for this phase, in awards of up to $50,000, with a focus on the development of institutional capacity, competitiveness and sustainability in local and regional work. That could include adding staff, expanding programs, diversifying revenue streams or adding partnerships.
While the BUILD phase was limited to IFCN signatories, eligibility for the GROW grant extends to fact-checking organizations partnered with or endorsed by a verified signatory, which can include non-profit organizations, NGOs, for-profit organizations, research organizations, and academic institutes that are working to advance fact-checking.
A third phase, ENGAGE, will open for applications in November.
Here is a full list of all the BUILD grant recipients:
Organization awarded and country
First Check, India
Digiteye India, India
MindaNews, Philippines
Vishvas News, India
Fundacja “Przeciwdziałamy Dezinformacji”, Poland
The Civilitas Foundation, Armenia
211 Check, South Sudan
Bolivia Verifica (Fundación para el Periodismo), Bolivia
MediaNet International Centre for Journalism Public Foundation, Kazakhstan
Media Development Foundation (MDF)/ Myth Detector, Georgia
FactCheck.lk by Verité Research, Sri Lanka
Pravda Association, Poland
DUBAWA/ Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia
Faktoje Albania, Albania
factcheck.vlaanderen, Belgium
NewsMeter (Fifth Estate Digital Private Ltd.), India
Lupa, Brazil
NewsMobile, India
Fatabyyano Fact-checking LLC, Jordan, serving the MENA region (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Syrian Arab Republic, Libya, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Palestinian Territory, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon and Western Sahara)
Fact-Check Ghana, Ghana
AAP FactCheck, Australia
Dogrula, Turkey
Technology Organization for Peace (Tech4Peace), Iraq
Taiwan FactCheck Center, Taiwan
NGO VoxUkraine, Ukraine
The Journal FactCheck (Journal Media), Ireland
Digital Forensic, Research and Analytics Center, India *
Prova dos Factos @ Público, Portugal *
Action for Democratic Society (ADS)/hibrid.info, Kosovo *
Mala Espina Check, Chile *
ChequeaBolivia, Bolivia *
Viral Check, Portugal *
Soch Fact Check, Pakistan *
5W1H MEDIA PRIVATE LTD. (TheLogicalIndian), India *
FactCheck Hub (International Centre for Investigative Reporting, Nigeria *
* preliminary awards
Media Contact:
Jennifer Orsi
Senior Director, Publishing and Local News Initiatives
Poynter Institute
(727) 350-2588
About the International Fact-Checking Network
The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at Poynter was launched in 2015 to bring together the growing community of fact-checkers around the world and advocates of factual information in the global fight against misinformation. We enable fact-checkers through networking, capacity building and collaboration. IFCN promotes the excellence of fact-checking to more than 100 organizations worldwide through advocacy, training and global events. Our team monitors trends in the fact-checking field to offer resources to fact-checkers, contribute to public discourse and provide support for new projects and initiatives that advance accountability in journalism. We believe truth and transparency can help people be better informed and equipped to navigate harmful misinformation.
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a global nonprofit working to address society’s most pressing issues by teaching journalists and journalism, covering the media and the complexities facing the industry, convening and community building, improving the capacity and sustainability of news organizations and fostering trust and reliability of information. The Institute is a gold standard in journalistic excellence and dedicated to the preservation and advancement of press freedom in democracies worldwide. Through Poynter, journalists, newsrooms, businesses, big tech corporations and citizens convene to find solutions that promote trust and transparency in news and stoke meaningful public discourse. The world’s top journalists and emerging media leaders rely on the Institute to learn new skills, adopt best practices, better serve audiences, scale operations and improve the quality of the universally shared information ecosystem.
The Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), MediaWise and PolitiFact are all part of the Poynter organization.
Support for Poynter and our entities upholds the integrity of the free press and the U.S. First Amendment and builds public confidence in journalism and media — an essential for health democracies. Learn more at poynter.org.
