Cristina Tardáguila

Cristina Tardáguila is the International Fact-Checking Network’s Associate Director. She was born in May 1980, in Brazil, and has lived in Rio de Janeiro for most of her life. Since 2014, Tardáguila has dedicated her professional life to verification. She is the founder of Agência Lupa, the first fact-checking initiative in her country, and also responsible for LupaEducação, its educational branch.

Tardáguila studied Journalism at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and got her master’s degree, also in Journalism, from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, in Madrid (Spain). In 2017, she added to her resumé an MBA on Digital Marketing, from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV-Rio de Janeiro), and is now considered one of the strongest media entrepreneurs in her country.

As a reporter and/or an editor, Tardáguila has worked in some of the most important media outlets in Brazil: O Globo, Folha de S.Paulo, Globo.com and revista piauí. She has also published two books: “A Arte do Descaso” (in 2016), about the biggest art heist in Brazil – still an unsolved crime. And “Você foi Enganado” (2018), about presidential false claims heard in Brazilian politics since 1920.

Her interest in dis/misinformation combat has taken her to TEDx’s red carpet twice and has turned her into elPeriodico’s best journalist of 2018. This award is annually given by Grupo Zeta, in Spain, to the most impressive journalist of the year. Tardaguila has also been nominated for Premio Gabriel García Marquez, in Colombia, and Prêmio Comunique-se, in Brazil. Both in their innovation categories.

Tardáguila is married, has a daughter and is fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish.