When journalists began arriving at Fundação Getulio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro for the International Fact-Checking Network’s GlobalFact conference late last month, the gathering felt noticeably different. Capacity this year was capped at about 350 seats because of venue limits, down from roughly 500 in previous editions. The summit remains the largest annual meeting of the world’s fact-checkers.
For months, the global fact-checking community had been navigating significant challenges. Funding cuts have squeezed budgets. Meta ended its third-party fact-checking program in the United States. International support for independent journalism is increasingly uncertain. Journalists committed to independent, fact-based reporting have increasingly become targets of coordinated harassment and political pressure.
Still, fact-checkers from more than 80 countries made the trip. A total of 444 professionals registered for the in-person and virtual experience, and every seat in the hall was occupied. Those unable to travel streamed the sessions online. Brazil was the most represented country, with 107 participants, followed by the United States (52) and India (28).
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, one of the keynote speakers, opened the conference bluntly: “Self-regulation has proven a failure.”
He emphasized, "What is illegal offline is illegal online," calling for greater platform accountability.
Joining him on the panel, Superior Electoral Court President Cármen Lúcia compared online regulations to traffic laws, explaining, “Your freedom does not mean to be free to go the wrong way and crash into another car.”
Brazil’s Attorney General Jorge Messias agreed, saying, “There is no point in talking about self-regulation … Big Tech companies can’t even follow their own terms of use.” He added, “A hammer in the hand of a bricklayer can build good things, but in the hand of a killer can kill a person.” GlobalFact reporter Maria Ramirez Uribe covered the first day’s session in detail. Read her story here.
In opening remarks before the keynote address, International Fact-Checking Network Director Angie Drobnic Holan emphasized that “freedom of expression is sacred to fact checkers,” and that despite challenges facing the community, “the truth is still worth fighting for.” (Read Holan’s remarks here.)
The day before the conference opened on June 25, Latin American fact-checkers met at the same venue for their annual LatamChequea network summit. In a joint statement, they urged funders, platforms, and governments to act decisively, warning: “Without verification, lies win.” The message expressed alarm over the end of U.S. international media support and Meta’s pullback from fact-checking partnerships.
On the second day of GlobalFact, three of Latin America’s most influential journalism leaders – Patrícia Campos Mello, Laura Zommer, and Jaime Abello – offered a message of resilience and renewal. They urged fact-checkers to innovate, collaborate, and stay rooted in ethical, public-interest journalism.
Patrícia Campos Mello, Laura Zommer, and Jaime Abello. (Photo: Andressa Guerra/ Poynter)
Zommer, known for building fact-checking networks across Latin America, called for radical transparency: “We should essentially undress ourselves, open our process and be explicit about it.”
Abello, who leads the Gabo Foundation, reminded the audience that journalism’s future depends on honoring its social contract: “The only present and future is to fulfill the promise we have made to society to work ethically and independently.”
Fact-Checking awards
The second day featured the presentation of the Global Fact-Checking Awards. (For the record, I coordinated expert reviews by independent judges and announced the winners during the ceremony.)
AFP won the first-ever Gold Standard Award for its investigation into disinformation networks in the South China Sea.
IFCN Director Angie Drobnic Holan presents the Gold Standard Award to the AFP team at GlobalFact 12. (Photo: Andressa Guerra/ Poynter)
Brazil’s Aos Fatos won the Impact Award for live fact-checking São Paulo’s mayoral debates. Tempo won the Creative Format Award for a game that teaches people how to spot phishing scams. (The Indonesian newsroom also won the award two years ago.) Factchequeado was recognized with the Collaboration Award for its partnership across U.S. Spanish-language media.
Bill Adair, Laura Zommer, and Peter Cunliffe-Jones received outstanding service awards for their significant contributions to the field of fact-checking.
Read the full awards coverage by Uribe here.
The summit concluded its third day with topical networking sessions and private regional meetings, where fact-checkers discussed specific challenges and strategies relevant to their areas.
At the end of the event, Holan thanked attendees and sponsors, and reflected on the resilience the community had shown in a difficult year. She said she was proud of the conference’s success in Rio.
She revealed that GlobalFact 2026 returns to Europe next year, with the exact location to be announced by September.
The IFCN is sharing the full GlobalFact photo gallery for a limited time with Factually readers. Take a look. (Photo credit: Poynter/Andressa Guerra)
