No, this isn’t the casting call for the worst quiz show in history — although fact-checkers would probably fare quite decently on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”
On June 9 and 10, the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter and the Duke Reporters’ Lab will be hosting the Third Global Fact-Checking Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (For coverage of last year’s summit read reports on The Washington Post, Le Monde, and Journalism.co.uk)
This is a great opportunity for individuals from media outlets or civil society organizations interested in launching a fact-checking website to meet industry leaders from around the world and go deep on the central challenges and opportunities of the field.
Topics addressed at Global Fact 3 will include how to establish a solid methodology, where to find training resources, what funding strategies to attempt, how to measure impact and which formats have been shown to be most engaging with media consumers.
The IFCN is glad to announce an open call to enable five aspiring or new fact-checkers to attend the conference. These travel grants are made possible with support from the Open Society Foundation’s Program for Independent Journalism.
Eligible candidates must:
- Have a concrete plan to launch a fact-checking initiative in the next six months, or have launched one in the past six months.
- Operate in countries not deemed “free” in the Freedom House Freedom of the Press report or a score above 25 on the Reporters Without Borders index (while these reports are not scientific, they do provide a rough estimation of the conditions accountability journalism projects operate in).
- Have no political or partisan affiliation and be able to prove their impartiality.
The stipends will cover flight and accommodation for one person per organization.
In order to participate, please submit a document no longer than 1000 words detailing (a) which medium the fact-checking project operates in/will operate in (b) the regularity and format of its fact checks (c) its existing or potential funding sources (d) the timing of its deployment (e) the potential impact of the conference for the participants’ ability to launch (f) potential impact of the fact-checking initiative on the national media context.
Please submit this document by Thursday May 5 to factchecknet@poynter.org
The decision on the most meritorious candidates will be made by a jury of five directors of fact-checking organizations or experts of fact-checking from around the world and announced to winners on Monday, May 9.
Interested in launching a fact-checking website? Check out 7 things to consider before getting into fact-checking.
