During a recent visit to the London offices of the fact-checking organization Full Fact, I noticed an important question written on a whiteboard as the team prepared to fact-check the United Kingdom’s July 4 elections.

“What does a good election look like?”

This question is pivotal, especially for fact-checkers who aim to ensure election integrity. To effectively fact-check, we must understand how our efforts contribute to the overall quality of the election itself. How can our work actually lead to what Full Fact called “a good election”?

We can all agree that elections should be open and transparent, with clear procedures and mechanisms for accountability. It then follows that fact-checking organizations and fact-checkers play a crucial role in maintaining these principles. By providing accurate information and debunking hoaxes, fact-checkers help maintain voting integrity and foster public trust.

This year has been unprecedented in how many elections have happened around the world, with millions of people going to the polls in the United States, India, Africa, Europe and many other places. As manager of the Arab Fact-Checkers Network, my visit to Full Fact inspired me to document 10 practices that can help fact-checking organizations anywhere plan their activities effectively.

1. Planning: Everything starts with a strategy

When planning to fact-check an election, it is essential to brainstorm with your team well in advance. Start by answering this crucial question based on your country’s context and election environment: What does a good election look like?

Understanding what constitutes a good election in your own context will help shape your fact-checking strategies and priorities. It is also crucial to consider prebunking, which involves disseminating accurate information about the election before misinformation has a chance to spread. The “Facts Sheets” of Africa Check are good examples of prebunking an election, tackling issues like water, electricity, jobs and sanitation before voters actually went to the polls.

While planning for the election, think also about strategic activities like resource allocation, stakeholder engagement, team coordination, and post-election evaluation.

2. What should you fact-check in an election?

When fact-checking an election, it is crucial to focus on impact. Start by preparing a well-organized list of candidates, public figures, and media organizations to monitor. Categorize these based on relevant topics within the election context, such as policy, candidate backgrounds and key issues. This structured approach ensures that your efforts are targeted, allowing you to track the most influential voices and sources that shape the public opinion.

Fact-checking an election does not mean verifying every single statement made. Instead, it involves focusing on information that truly impacts people’s lives, debunking harmful misinformation and disinformation, and holding public figures accountable for their statements. The selection of claims by Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post, on the first Donald Trump-Joe Biden debate in June 2024 is worth reading; he focused on some of the candidates’ highest-profile claims.

3. Trusted sources to fact-check an election

Maintaining a clear and organized list of trusted election-related resources is essential. Start by compiling a list of reputable sources, such as official government websites, which provide accurate and up-to-date information on voter registration, polling locations and election laws.

Include in your list major news organizations known for their intensive coverage and balanced reporting. Additionally, nonprofit organizations might offer valuable data and research on voter demographics and election trends. By keeping trusted resources at your fingertips, you can quickly access reliable information and cross-reference data.

4. Analyze trends

Go beyond verifying individual statements, photos and videos, and focus on analyzing broader trends in the misinformation landscape. By identifying patterns and themes in false narratives, you can better understand the tactics used to spread falsehoods, so as to develop more effective countermeasures.

For example, during an election, you might notice recurring false claims about the security of mail-in voting. By tracking these trends, you can highlight and address the root causes and methods of dissemination, whether they originate from specific groups, social media platforms, or other channels. An investigation by The Associated Press, for example, looked at how voters of color were targeted by misinformation campaigns.

5. Prioritize your audience

Engage your audience when publishing fact-checking content to foster trust and cultivate an informed electorate. Use interactive methods like quizzes to educate the audience on key election topics, such as the electoral process, candidates’ platforms and common misinformation themes. These quizzes can make learning about the election more engaging and memorable. Africa Check did this with the Nigerian elections in 2023, and South African elections in 2024.

Live discussions and Q&A sessions are also highly effective. Hosting these events on social media platforms or through webinars allows you to address questions and concerns in real time, providing immediate clarification on contentious issues or debunking circulating misinformation on elections.

6. Should you use artificial intelligence? Why and how?

While AI-generated misinformation might not always play a significant role during an election (it has in the U.S., but didn’t in the UK), don’t expect to focus exclusively on AI threats. Instead, leverage AI tools to facilitate the monitoring and detection of various claims.

AI can efficiently monitor vast amounts of data from social media, news organizations and other sources, helping to identify potential misinformation quickly. This not only saves time but also ensures that efforts are focused on the most significant and widespread claims.

Full Fact’s AI tools, for example, are invaluable in supporting this process. In 2024, Full Fact used them to cover far more ground than would have been possible with human eyes alone. Those tools monitored over 136 million words in 142,909 articles, transcripts and social media posts. The tools also spotted hundreds of misleading election claims on social media.

Full Fact’s tools are what inspired my visit to the London newsroom. The Arab Fact-Checkers Network, which I manage as part of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (or ARIJ), is supporting 25 fact-checking organizations from 11 Arab countries to use Full Fact’s AI tools in Arabic. The network will be fact-checking the Algerian, Tunisian and Jordanian elections in 2024.

7. Consider accountability: Let them correct and apologize

Accountability can mean sharing your fact-checking results with the individuals or organizations that initially spread the false claims. By doing so, you not only confront the sources of misinformation but also encourage them to take responsibility for their statements.

For example, if a political candidate or a media organization spreads a false narrative, reach out to them with your findings in hopes that it will prompt a re-evaluation of their narrative. This practice not only helps correct the record, but also underscores the importance of accuracy in public communication.

Full Fact decided, for example, to address an open letter to Keir Starmer, the new UK prime minister, the day after his appointment, urging him to take several specific steps to improve information integrity. Yes, governments, politicians and policy makers should know that fact-checking organizations are watching, following their work and working towards holding them accountable.

8. Safety: It is a priority, not a luxury

This leads to our next point: Always start with a risk assessment. In the Arab world, safety is crucial for effective journalism and fact-checking. For the Arab Fact-Checkers Network, ensuring safety is a priority. When journalists and fact-checkers feel secure, they can focus on their work. But if safety is compromised, effective operation becomes impossible.

Election fact-checking exposes those doing it to threats, ranging from harassment to potential violence. Conducting a thorough risk assessment to identify and mitigate these risks is crucial.

This assessment should detail specific threats like online harassment, physical intimidation, or legal repercussions, and propose measures such as training, secure communication practices, and crisis response plans to keep the team safe.

Given the recent challenges in Gaza, Georgia, Croatia and the Philippines, we must prioritize the safety of fact-checkers more than ever.

9. Collaboration: Working together increases impact

Fact-checking the war in Gaza stands out as one of the most significant collaborative efforts undertaken by the Arab Fact-Checkers Network in the past two years. This initiative brought together more than 60 fact-checking organizations from more than 40 countries, united in their mission to combat misinformation surrounding one of the most complex and exhausting international conflicts. The scale of this collaboration increased the reach of accurate information and provided essential support in fact-checking disinformation during a crisis.

Similarly, collaboration during elections offers huge benefits. Working together allows organizations to tackle challenges more effectively, utilizing a diverse range of resources and expertise. Moreover, such efforts broaden their reach, ensuring accurate information is disseminated widely in various languages.

In 2024, the European Fact-Checking Standards Network developed a fact-checking database project for the European Parliament elections. More than 40 organizations across Europe participated in the collaboration.

A coalition of media organizations led by Africa Check worked together to combat misinformation during South Africa’s recent elections. With the support of Africa Check and the Arab Fact-Checkers Network, a coalition is in place to fact-check elections in Tunisia and Algeria this year.

As Nobel Peace Prize laureate and journalist Maria Ressa stated at GlobalFact11 in Sarajevo, “In times of fear, collaboration becomes critical.” During an election, particularly in critical regions or conflict zones, widespread fear and threats can arise. Collaborative efforts can play a crucial role in addressing and mitigating these challenges.

10. Establish clear guidelines based on lessons learned

It’s important not just to do our fact-checking, but to analyze it for ways to improve. In our rapidly changing world, the landscape of misinformation is evolving just as swiftly, necessitating adaptive strategies. Each election presents unique challenges, and by reflecting on these experiences, we can refine our approaches to better address misinformation. As we learn from one election cycle to the next, sharing insights and discussing strategies with the broader fact-checking community becomes invaluable.

As the 2024 U.S. elections approach, the global fact-checking community is closely watching how deepfakes and AI could impact the electoral process. The 10 points outlined here might help fact-checkers effectively plan and study for future elections everywhere.