THE FactCheckHub is among the 35 organisations named as recipients of the Global Fact-Check Fund which is run by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at the non-profit Poynter Institute and supported by a $13.2 million grant from Google and Youtube.
The IFCN on June 29, 2023 announced the 35 grant recipients serving 45 countries. It will be recalled that The ICIR had in April 2023 reported that the global fact-checking body was seeking applications for the global fact-check fund.
The first phase of funding, which is the BUILD phase, aims to help fact-checking organisations scale or upgrade their online presence.
The organisations were awarded $25,000 each for projects that will modernise websites, hire staff, train people to identify misinformation and many other initiatives to build and strengthen their capacity.
The fund which would run over the course of three years and eight phases, would support eligible organisations to increase the level of professionalism in fact-checking associated with media outlets, as well as help citizens better assess what they see in mass media and social media.
“Misinformation is on the march in many parts of the world. This important funding will enable fact-checking organisations to become better at their work, stronger in their capabilities and wider in their reach,” said Angie Drobnic Holan, the newly appointed first female director of the IFCN.
“That will pay dividends for the citizens of their countries by helping to support free and accurate expression and providing tools to critically assess the information they consume.” She added
Fact-checking organisations that are signatories of the IFCN’s Code of Principles applied for the funding earlier this year, and grantees were selected in an open process. Recipients include organisation from Africa, South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, with projects to be completed in a nine- to 12-month time frame.
Applications for the second phase (GROW) of the funds program would be open in August 2023, Holan noted
She said while the BUILD phase was limited to IFCN signatories, eligibility for the GROW grant extends to fact-checking organisations partnered with or endorsed by a verified signatory, which can include non-profit organisations, NGOs, for-profit organisations, research organisations, and academic institutes that are working to advance fact-checking.
A third phase, ENGAGE, will open for applications in November.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected]