IFCN and the Facebook Journalism Project announce Fact-Checking Innovation Initiative

International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), a unit of the Poynter Institute dedicated to bringing together fact-checkers worldwide, has partnered with the Facebook Journalism Project to create the Fact-Checking Innovation Initiative. 

The initiative will be open to the fact-checking community and will focus on innovation projects, new formats, and technologies that should help benefit the broader ecosystem. 

This new initiative will welcome projects that want to improve fact-checkers’ scale, efficiency or workflow, increase the reach of fact-checks to empower more people with reliable information, build new tools to help combat misinformation, encourage newsrooms to collaborate in fact-checking efforts, and more.

The goal is to support projects that are focused on new and creative ideas around fact-checking, misinformation, disinformation and improving the internet ecosystem with finding and understanding how to recognize reliable information. The initiative will provide funding and connections to experts across the fact-checking community in order to give participants access to advising, collaboration, and a support network.

The projects should also address region-specific challenges and opportunities and can include technical and non-technical solutions. 

Baybars Örsek, the Director of the International Fact-Checking Network, and Keren Goldshlager, Integrity Partnerships for Facebook, announced the Fact-Checking Innovation Initiative today during Facebook’s fact-checking partner summit at their headquarters in Menlo Park, CA.

Applicants will be able to submit proposals for grants between $15,000 and $70,000.

“Fact-checking has been not only growing by the number of organizations but in their impact as well. This initiative will allow fact-checkers to present out-of-box ideas to the broader journalistic community and provide more tools and skills to fight against misinformation” – Baybars Örsek, International Fact-Checking Network’s Director

”We’re proud of our partnerships with third-party fact-checkers to help fight the spread of misinformation on Facebook — and now we’re excited to partner with the IFCN to extend our support to innovative projects that will benefit the broader ecosystem.” – Keren Goldshlager, Facebook Integrity Partnerships

The call for applications will be announced later this month. Please leave your email below to receive a notification once the applications are open.