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• GlobalFact 11, held in Sarajevo in June 2024, brought together fact-checkers worldwide to celebrate achievements and address challenges in the field.
• Nobel laureate and keynote Maria Ressa emphasized fact-checkers' role in protecting democracy and urged tech companies to take greater responsibility.
• The relationship between fact-checkers and tech giants was a central theme, highlighting both support and frustrations.
• Awards recognized innovative fact-checking projects from Turkey, India, and Georgia.
• Discussions on artificial intelligence explored potential benefits and the need for cautious, collaborative implementation.
• Political scientist Steven Levitsky discussed democratic resiliency and the importance of independent journalism.
Maria Ressa’s keynote: A warning and encouragement
Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa is interviewed by Phil Chetwynd, global news director for AFP news agency, during a keynote session at the GlobalFact 11. (Vanja Čerimagić)

Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, delivered a powerful keynote message at GlobalFact 11, emphasizing the critical role of fact-checking in safeguarding democracy at a time when misinformation thrives. Speaking in conversation with AFP’s Phil Chetwynd, she warned that 2024 is a tipping point year for democracy globally, with many countries electing illiberal leaders. She also highlighted the transformation of social media from enablers of democracy to platforms that can incite fear, anger, and hate, creating what she termed an "outrage economy."

Ressa called on tech companies to take more responsibility for combating misinformation. She urged them to implement measures to prevent the spread of harmful content, citing examples such as Facebook's temporary measures during the 2020 U.S. election. Ressa also emphasized the importance of collaboration among fact-checkers and the need to rebuild journalism as an antidote to tyranny. She concluded by encouraging fact-checkers to embrace their crucial role in anchoring the world in facts, despite the challenges and potential dangers they face.
Overview of Ressa’s talk ([link removed]) by Loreben Tuquero • Full text of the Q-A ([link removed])

Related content: ‘Frenemies’: The complicated relationship ([link removed]) between fact-checkers and tech giants like Meta and TikTok: Many fact-checking outlets are financially dependent on the very platforms that they criticize, by Angela Fu: Fact-checkers at GlobalFact expressed frustration with opaque policies, uneven rule application, and algorithms that sometimes promote false information. Fact-checkers also reported problems like false flagging of their content and struggling to balance privacy and safety concerns. Platform representatives faced tough questions about their practices, including issues of language diversity, AI impact, and commitment to human fact-checkers.

Two years after an open letter to YouTube, fact-checkers remain dissatisfied ([link removed]) with the platform’s inaction, by Loreben Tuquero: Two years ago, fact-checkers called for increased transparency, more context for videos, harsher action against repeat misinformers, and improved efforts to combat misinformation in languages other than English. While there has been increased communication and resource availability, fact-checkers argued that the user experience on YouTube remains largely unchanged. They criticized the platform's slow response to flagged misinformation, its limited efforts in non-English content moderation, and the challenges fact-checkers face in getting their own content seen on the platform.


Award-winning fact-checking
Fact-checkers from India collaborated to detect deepfakes during the country's recent elections. They accepted their prize for best colllaboration at Sarajevo's historic city hall. (Vanja Čerimagić)
• Three fact-checking groups took home four prizes ([link removed]) at GlobalFact:

• Myth Detector of Georgia won for most creative format for "Operation Infektion ([link removed]) ," a game that teaches about Soviet propaganda methods; and for research ([link removed]) on sexist hate speech and gendered disinformation.

• Teyit of Turkey won for most impactful fact-checking, by examining claims ([link removed]) about Palestinian land sales to Israelis, providing historical context on land acquisition methods.

• India’s Deepfakes Analysis Unit ([link removed]) won for best collaboration for a project that allowed the public to submit content they suspect is AI-generated. The project analyzed 500 pieces of information and created 14 reports. Participating fact-checkers were organized by India’s Misinformation Combat Alliance ([link removed]) and included: Boom, Fact Crescendo, Factly, India Today, The Logical Indian, Logically Facts, Newschecker, Newsmeter, Newsmobile, The Quint, THIP and Vishvas News.

Fact-checking and AI come together at GlobalFact
Andrew Dudfield of FullFact appears on a panel about AI at GlobalFact in Sarajevo (Vanja Čerimagić)
Fact-checking panel discusses future potential
• Fact-checkers at GlobalFact 11 emphasized the need for careful and collaborative approaches to using AI.
• Rubén Míguez Pérez of Newtral, who moderated the panel, noted that tasks like building claim detection systems are now accessible to non-experts: "The power of generative AI is democratizing the access that people — regular people, not data scientists, not even programmers — are going to have (to) this kind of technology."
• Rakesh Dubbudu from Factly Media & Research suggested using organizations' own content to build AI tools, reducing issues of hallucination and copyright: "A lot of news agencies today, they have hundreds of thousands of articles. A lot of us could start by converting those knowledge sources into chatbots because that is your own proprietary data."
• Cristina Tardáguila of Lupa urged fact-checkers to collaborate in developing AI tools, emphasizing the need for unity in the face of this new technology: "When dealing with this new, and yet to grow, devil of AI, we need to be together." She asked fact-checkers who want to collaborate on an AI chatbot to fill out a Google form ([link removed]) so they can organize their efforts.
• Andrew Dudfield from Full Fact warned that some claims about AI’s abilities have been exaggerated: "AI can't fact-check for journalists." Most fact-checks involve brand new information requiring expert consultation and cross-referencing, tasks that AI tools cannot perform.
Nikita Roy says ‘language tasks’ can benefit fact-checking
• Fact-checkers can use AI for “language tasks” like drafting headlines or translating stories, not “knowledge tasks” like answering Google-style questions that rely on the training data of the AI model, said Roy, a Knight fellow at the International Center for Journalists.
• “If we use it responsibly and ethically, it has the potential to streamline workflows and enhance productivity,” Roy said. “Every single minute misinformation is spread online and we delay in getting our fact checks out, that’s another second that the information landscape is being polluted.”
Democracy lecture and the ‘Sarajevo statement’ against censorship
Political scientist and author Steve Levitsky addresses GlobalFact in the closing keynote. (Vanja Čerimagić)
• The Sarajevo statement ([link removed]) , issued at GlobalFact 11, reaffirmed the fact-checking community's commitment to freedom of expression and access to information. Key points of the statement include:
• Fact-checking is rooted in the principles of seeking, receiving, and imparting information and ideas.
• The statement emphasized that fact-checking adds information to public debate, rather than censoring or removing content.
• It addressed recent attacks on fact-checkers and called for them to be allowed to do their work without harassment. (See related story, "'We continue this fight ([link removed]) :' Georgian fact-checkers won't back down after passage of foreign agents law.")
• The statement acknowledged ongoing debates about content moderation on tech platforms, but argued against removing false information solely for being false.
• It highlighted the public's need for accurate information to make informed decisions about government, the economy, health, and other aspects of life.
• The statement was signed by 130 fact-checking organizations from 80 countries, all signatories to the IFCN Code of Principles.


**
Levitsky argues for democratic resilience in closing keynote
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Harvard government professor Steven Levitsky addressed fact-checkers at GlobalFact 11, offering insights on the state of democracy worldwide. Despite challenges, Levitsky noted that the number of democracies has remained relatively stable since the early 2000s, demonstrating surprising resilience. This stability persists even in the face of various threats, including the rise of China, Putin's Russia, and the emergence of populist leaders in several countries. Levitsky attributed this resilience partly to the fragility of new autocracies, which often struggle to deliver public services and manage dissent effectively.

Levitsky emphasized the critical role of opposition in sustaining democracy, which requires autonomous citizens and an independent private sector. He stressed the importance of an independent press in this ecosystem, arguing that it is essential for providing citizens with the information they need to effectively engage in democratic processes. Without an independent, self-sustaining media, Levitsky contended, it's impossible to guarantee citizens access to the information necessary for a functioning democracy. His talk underscored the crucial role fact-checkers and independent media play in maintaining healthy democratic systems amid various global challenges.

RELATED: "'You are the target ([link removed]) ’: What it's like to fact-check a war," by Angela Fu: Panelists from various war-torn regions — including Sudan, Ukraine, Lebanon, Iraq, and the West Bank — shared experiences, emphasizing the need for safety measures and the personal toll of their work. They discussed the difficulties in obtaining accurate information due to communication breakdowns and government restrictions.

Panelists stressed the importance of maintaining a watchdog role during wartime and urged fact-checkers to prepare contingency plans. These include power banks for electricity shortages and partnerships with journalists outside conflict zones. The session underscored the vital role of fact-checkers in conflict situations and the need for agile operations to combat misinformation in challenging environments.
Thanks for reading this installment of Factually, focused on our GlobalFact conference! See you next month.
Angie Drobnic Holan
Director, IFCN
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Enock Nyariki
Community and Impact Manager, IFCN
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Alanna Dvorak
International Training Manager, IFCN
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

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