Alexandre de Moraes doesn't often speak to journalists, but he has become Brazil’s top authority in the fight against misinformation. As a Supreme Court justice, de Moraes has taken bold steps to stop harmful lies online, drawing global attention for his public clashes with former President Jair Bolsonaro and X owner Elon Musk. His actions are helping shape Brazil’s response to growing threats against its democracy.
De Moraes will deliver the keynote address at GlobalFact 12, the world’s largest annual gathering for fact-checkers, which opens Wednesday, June 25, at Fundação Getulio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro. More than 350 fact-checkers, policymakers, academics and platform representatives, including from TikTok, will meet to discuss the challenges of misinformation at a pivotal moment. The summit follows difficult months for the fact-checking industry, marked by major funding cuts, rising harassment and the retreat of platforms from efforts to curb falsehoods.
Ahead of the summit, I spoke with my colleague Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the International Fact-Checking Network, about what attendees can expect during the three-day event and how those unable to travel can follow along. Below is our conversation.
Enock Nyariki: Why should people tune into GlobalFact 12 later this month and what can they expect from guest speakers like Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court justice who has steered Brazil’s fight against disinformation?
Angie Drobnic Holan: GlobalFact is where the world’s fact-checkers come together to share best practices in journalism and business, spot emerging trends, collaborate on new initiatives, and stay current with the industry. Guest speaker Justice Alexandre de Moraes has won international attention (he was recently profiled in The New Yorker) for his strict enforcement of Brazilian law against tech platforms. De Moraes has said his actions against platforms like X have been driven by a determination to protect Brazil’s democracy and force companies to obey its laws.
He’ll be joined by two other notable figures from Brazil’s government. Cármen Lúcia is a justice of the Supreme Federal Court and has spoken regularly about the threats of online disinformation to elections. Jorge Messias, Brazil’s attorney general, has led hearings on the need for tech platform content moderation policies. Together, they will provide key insights into Brazil’s current approach.
For the record, the IFCN takes no positions on particular approaches to information law. But I do think the world’s fact-checkers will learn a great deal from hearing about Brazil’s perspective on information integrity.
Additionally, Brazil’s fact-checkers — Aos Fatos, Estadão Verifica, Lupa, and UOL Confere — will speak on multiple panels to explain the important role fact-checkers have had in covering Brazil’s elections and where they believe the fact-checking community should go next. IFCN is proud to partner with these four organizations to host GlobalFact in Rio de Janeiro.
Nyariki: This is the first GlobalFact in Brazil. What does hosting the summit in Rio mean for fact-checking in Latin America and worldwide?
Holan: GlobalFact was last in Latin America during the summer of 2016 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A lot has changed since then. We’ve seen fact-checking grow by leaps and bounds, and the regional network, Latam Chequea, has grown dramatically as well. I think Latin America provides an important counterbalance to information policies that come out of Europe and the United States, showing us that many different approaches to information integrity are in play globally these days. Also, as part of the Global South, Latin America has unique perspectives on self-government and development.
I’m especially looking forward to hearing the panel featuring Laura Zommer of Factchequeado, Brazilian journalist Patrícia Campos Mello, and Jaime Abello Banfi of the Gabo Foundation. Laura is a global leader in fact-checking; Patrícia is an internationally recognized journalist, and Jaime is someone who can speak to the current moment’s threats and potential. He leads the Gabo Foundation, founded by author and Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez, which emphasizes the important role of independent journalism for both human rights and creativity.
Nyariki: Funding cuts, such as Meta ending its U.S. fact-checking program, and rising harassment have strained many newsrooms. How will GlobalFact 12 address these threats and support fact-checkers?
Holan: We have several panels devoted to these topics, though I will warn you that there are no magic solutions to persistent problems like harassment. Rather, we see recurring strategies to implement and helpful processes to manage. On Meta’s moves, I think we will have a lot of discussion on what Meta has done in the United States and what they might do next globally. I regret to report that though IFCN invited Meta to attend the conference, they declined. So we’ll have to have those discussions in Rio without them.
Nyariki: AI is moving fast and reshaping journalism. What new tools, partnerships or ideas do you see emerging at GlobalFact 12 that could help fact-checkers adapt and grow?
Holan: This could be one of the most intriguing areas of the conference. I think generative artificial intelligence is going to reshape how people access information and their relationships with online content. So fact-checkers and all journalists need to be thinking hard about what we want our relationships with both the audience and AI companies to look like.
AI has a problem with consistently reporting back accurate information; there’s pretty much no doubt of that now. Given the very nature of how AI works, it’s not going to be an easy thing for engineers to fix without routine human intervention. I think there's an opportunity for fact-checkers there. And it’s better if we collaborate on outreach efforts so we can develop relationships and work processes that can scale.
Nyariki: With more than 300 fact-checkers and 80 speakers on site, what collaborations or outcomes do you hope to see by the end of the summit?
Holan: There are always unexpected outcomes from a GlobalFact conference — the dreams and brainstorms of an idealistic group like ours always yield new ideas. (And we are idealistic about giving people access to accurate, trustworthy information!) Our Code of Principles, for example, was an idea that sprang from GlobalFacts in London and Buenos Aires.
This year, I think we most need to remind ourselves of our mission, and how much our work is needed. It’s easy to get discouraged, but I think vibrant conversations among peers — maybe held beachside in gorgeous Rio de Janeiro, over a cocktail or a coconut water — will help us all keep our spirits up.
Nyariki: For online viewers, what will the virtual experience look like?
Holan: The online sessions will be livestreamed as they happen during Rio de Janeiro’s business hours. Then, we’ll load the video for people to watch at their convenience in multiple time zones around the world.
Nyariki: The Global Fact-Checking Awards on June 26 honor work in Impact, Creative Format, Collaboration and Gold Standard. What should viewers know about this year’s finalists, and why do these awards matter to the community?
Holan: I’m just as excited to find out this year’s winners as everyone else. (I actually don’t know who they are yet!) This year, we asked a jury of their peer fact-checkers to select the finalists and winners, so I think the winners will be truly outstanding. These awards are tangible evidence of the great work being produced by fact-checking journalists around the world.
Having said that, I think any fact-checking organization that entered its work is a winner this year — producing fact-checking journalism that you feel deserves widespread recognition is a win itself. So I’m very grateful to all the fact-checkers who entered, regardless of the final results.
