At the annual meeting of the world’s fact-checkers in 2024 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina — our 11th GlobalFact meeting — it is time to restate our longstanding commitment to access to information and freedom of expression, for all people and across borders.
All people have the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. Fact-checking is deeply rooted in these principles. Fact-checking requires the right and ability to find sources, read widely and interview experts who are free to speak candidly — all as part of a rigorous methodology and process. This is the foundation on which all true fact-checking is built. Fact-checking is part of a free press and high-quality journalism, and it contributes to public information and knowledge.
Fact-checking seeks to provide additional information, setting out evidence to correct and clarify messages that are false, misleading or lack important context. Fact-checking does not seek to expunge or erase these messages, but to preserve them as part of the public debate while offering evidence necessary to accurately inform that debate.
Despite this, fact-checkers have in recent years been relentlessly attacked as online censors, and after such attacks many have been subject to verbal abuse, doxxing, coordinated attacks, legal threats, political pressure, and even physical violence. However, as an expression of speech, fact-checking cannot be considered censorship in any true sense of the word. Censorship removes information. Fact-checking adds it.
There have been and will be necessary debates about how media and online companies host speech; how tech platforms curate and moderate public posts; and how society as a whole should define and handle illegal or harmful speech. While some information may be removed if it causes actual harm, a false claim should not be removed solely because it is false. Instead, the public should be provided with the appropriate context and verification in order to determine the claims’ veracity. At the same time, false claims should not be rewarded with popularity or virality. Additionally, with the arrival of new artificial intelligence (AI) tools, there is a growing awareness of their potential to spread false information, and the need for accuracy is more important than ever.
The public has a need for accurate information in order to make decisions about their governments, their economies, their health and all aspects of their lives. Fact-checking is a key part of giving the public accurate information and improving information ecosystems.
211check (South Sudan) • AAP FactCheck (Australia) • Africa Check (Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa) • Agence France-Presse (France) • AkhbarMeter Media Observatory (Egypt) • Animal Político-El Sabueso (México) • Annie Lab (Hong Kong) • Aos Fatos (Brazil) • APA – Austria Press Agency (Austria) • Beam Reports (Sudan) • Belarusian Investigative Center (Czech Republic) • Bolivia Verifica (Bolivia) • BOOM (India, Myanmar, Bangladesh) • The Canadian Press (Canada) • Centar za demokratsku tranziciju / Raskrinkavanje.me (Montenegro) • Check Your Fact (United States) • Chequeado (Argentina) • CivilNet.am (Armenia) • Colombiacheck (Colombia) • Congo Check (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo and Central African Republic) • CORRECTIV (Germany) • Cotejo.Info (Venezuela) • Delfi Estonia / Eesti Päevalehe Faktikontroll (Estonia) • Delfi ‘Melo detektorius’(Lithuania) • Demagog (Poland) • Demagog.cz (Czechia) • Demagog.sk (Slovakia) • Détecteur de rumeurs (Canada) • Digital Forensics, Research and Analytics Center (India) • doğruluk payı (Türkiye) • dpa (Germany) • DUBAWA (Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and the Gambia) • EFE Verifica (Spain) • Ellinika Hoaxes (Greece) • Estadão Verifica (Brazil) • Fact-Check Ghana (Ghana) • Fact-o-meter / Maharat Foundation (Lebanon) • Factcheck.bg (Bulgaria) • FactCheck.org (United States) • Factcheck Georgia (Georgia) • Factcheck Lab (Hong Kong) • FactCheckHub (Nigeria) • FactCheckNI (Northern Ireland) • FactCheckZW (Zimbabwe) • Factcheck.Vlaanderen (Belgium) • Factchequeado (United States) • FactCrescendo (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand) • Factly (India) • Factnameh (Iran) • FactSpace West Africa (Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the Gambia) • Factual.ro (Romania) • FactWatch (Bangladesh) • Faktisk.no (Norway) • Faktograf(Croatia) • Faktoje (Albania) • Fakt Yoxla (Azerbaijan) • Fatabyyano (Middle East & North Africa) • Fast Check CL(Chile) • First Check (India) • France 24 Observers (France) • Full Fact (UK) • Fundación Maldita.es (Spain) • Greece Fact Check (Greece) • Gwara Media (Ukraine) • The Healthy Indian Project (India) • Hibrid.info (Kosovo) • India Today Fact Check (India) • InFact (Japan) • Internews Kosova / KALLXO (Kosovo) • Istinomer (Serbia) • Japan Fact-check Center (Japan) • The Journal FactCheck (Ireland) • Källkritikbyrån (Sweden) • Knack Magazine(Belgium) • KRIK / RasKRIKavanje (Serbia) • Lakmusz (Hungary) • The Lallantop (India) • Lead Stories (United States) • Les Surligneurs (France) • Litmus (Japan) • The Logical Indian (India) • Logically Facts (Ireland, UK, Europe, India) • Lupa(Brazil) • Mafindo (Indonesia) • Mala Espina (Chile) • MediaWise (United States) • Metamorphosis Foundation(North Macedonia) • MyGoPen (Taiwan) • Myth Detector (Georgia) • NepalFactCheck.org (Nepal) • Nest Center for Journalism Innovation and Development NGO (Mongolia) • Newschecker (India, Nepal, Bangladesh) • NewsMeter(India) • Newsmobile (India, US, Asia Pacific) • Newtral (Spain) • Observador (Portugal) • Open (Italy) • PA Media (UK and Ireland) • Pagella Politica & Facta (Italy) • Patikrinta 15min (Lithuania) • PesaCheck (Africa) • Polígrafo (Portugal) • PolitiFact (United States) • Pravda Association (Poland) • Press Trust of India (PTI) (India) • PressOne.PH (Philippines) • Probe (Philippines) • Provereno.Media (Estonia-Russia) • The Quint (India) • Rappler (Philippines) • Razkrinkavanje.si / Oštro (Slovenia) • Re:Baltica (Latvia) • The Red Flag (Myanmar) • RMIT ABC Fact Check (Australia) • RMIT FactLab (Australia) • Science Feedback (France, United States) • La Silla Vacía (Colombia) • Snopes (United States) • The Stage Media (Liberia) • StopFake (Ukraine) • Stopfals.md(Republic of Moldova) • T Verifica – Noticias Telemundo (United States) • Taiwan FactCheck Center (Taiwan) • Tech4Peace (Iraq) • Telugupost (India) • Tempo(Indonesia) • Teyit (Türkiye) • Tirto.id (Indonesia) • TjekDet (Denmark) • UOL Confere (Brazil) • VERA Files(Philippines) • Verificador LR (Peru) • Verificat (Spain) • Verify Media Platform (Turkey, Norway, Syria) • VishvasNews (India) • YouTurn (India) • Zašto ne / Istinomjer / Raskrinkavanje (Bosnia)
