Fighting the Infodemic: The #CoronaVirusFacts Alliance
Led by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at the Poynter Institute, the #CoronaVirusFacts / #DatosCoronaVirus Alliance unites more than 100 fact-checkers around the world in publishing, sharing and translating facts surrounding the novel coronavirus.
Poynter’s IFCN launched the Alliance in January when the spread of the new coronavirus was restricted to China but already causing rampant misinformation globally.
The World Health Organization now classifies this issue as an infodemic — and the Alliance is on the front lines in the fight against it.
1,500+
Fact-Checks
60+
Countries
15+
Languages
The IFCN is on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus infodemic by coordinating the largest collaborative fact-checking project ever.
Follow the Facts
Fact Check Database
Poynter’s IFCN created a database that gathers all the falsehoods that have been detected by the Alliance. You can sort, filter and search for content. The database will be updated regularly to include new publications by fact-checkers.
Twitter List
You can also find fact-checks by the alliance on this Twitter list. Please note: fact-checks are not automatically translated.
Weekly Reports
Since January, members of the alliance have been connected — day and night — through a robust email listserv and an active Slack channel, coordinated by the Poynter’s associate director of the IFCN, Cristina Tardáguila.
In less than two months, the group has published 1,000 fact-checking articles and weekly reports pointing out misinformation trends and discussing ways to improve the battle against COVID-19 hoaxes. Read all of them below:
Support this Work
Do you want to fight the the coronavirus infodemic? Donate to the International Fact-Checking Networking via the Poynter Institute.
Members of the Alliance
As of March 25, 2020, the members of the #CoronaVirusFacts / #DatosCoronaVirus Alliance include:
(15min.lt, AAP FactCheck, AFP, Agência Lupa, Animal Político, Annie Lab, Aos Fatos, BOOM FactCheck, BuzzFeed Japan, Check Your Fact, CheckNews, Chequeado, Colombiacheck, Correctiv, Décrypteurs – Radio-Canada, Décrypteurs – Radio-Canada and CBC, Delfi Melo Detektorius (Lie Detector), Demagog, Détecteur de rumeurs, Dubawa, Ecuador Chequea, Efecto Cocuyo, Effecinque / SkyTg24, Ellinika Hoaxes, Estadão Verifica, FactCheck Georgia, Factcheck.kz, FactCheck.org, FactCrescendo, Factly, Factnameh, Faktabaari/FactBar, Faktograf, France 24 Observers, franceinfo, Full Fact, GhanaFact, INFACT, JTBC news, La Silla Vacía, LeadStories, Maldita.es, Myth Detector, Newschecker, NewsMobile, Newtral.es, OjoPúblico, Pagella Politica, PesaCheck, Poligrafo, PolitiFact, Rappler, Raskrinkavanje, Science Feedback, Spondeo Media, Taiwan FactCheck Center, TEMPO, Teyit, The Quint, TheJournal.ie, TjekDet.dk, VERA Files, Vishvas News and VoxCheck)
How can I become a member of the CoronaVirusFacts / DatosCoronaVirus Alliance?
The CoronavirusFacts / DatosCoronaVirus Alliance, led by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), is accepting new members under the following criteria:
- The applicant must be an established fact-checking organization and will be required to send proof of legal registration or organizational status. Single-person operations are not accepted at this time.
- The applicant must be sponsored by at least one of the IFCN’s verified signatories and should have an email indicating that endorsement from this organization before submitting the application form. (Note: not all members of the CoronavirusFacts / DatosCoronaVirus Alliance are IFCN’s signatories. You can find the list of signatories here.)
- The applicant must provide at least five (5) fact checks (URLs) published by the organization related to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Note: These fact-checks can be written in any language, but the applicant will need to provide a short summary of each one in English.)
- The applicant must agree with the following:
- Not sharing the link to the alliance’s Google Sheet nor copying and sharing its content with non-members under any circumstances
- Follow the news and social media posts regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and look for claims/posts/images/videos that can be fact-checked.
- Publish verifications in a responsible and accurate way, following the IFCN’s Code of Principles and using the best public sources.
- Share with the alliance the content produced about the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing all other organizations to republish it for free on their own platforms and in other languages.
- Adding the following paragraph to all the COVID-19-related fact checks while this alliance lasts:
- “[NAME OF ORGANISATION] is working with the CoronaVirusFacts/DatosCoronaVirus Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 fact-checkers who are fighting misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about the alliance here (in English and in your language)”
- Carefully translate others’ content.
- Carefully input content in shared documents.
- Use the hashtag #CoronaVirusFacts on social media
- Inform the alliance if any clarification / correction is made in a fact-check.
- Have one person available to communicate with the alliance on its channels: Slack and listserv
Once the application is submitted (form here), the IFCN will review the documents and share basic information about the new member with the alliance. Members will have 24 hours to veto the new addition (and explain why). If approved, the newcomer will receive access to the shared database and the alliance’s channels in up to 72 hours.
The International Fact-Checking Network is part of the nonprofit Poynter Institute.