ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Nov. 2, 2021) – The Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) announces the launch of a mentorship program that will leverage the expertise of seasoned fact-checkers and fight the spread of misinformation around the globe. This peer-to-peer opportunity will help newsrooms build capacity to effectively verify information and deliver fact-based reports to audiences across traditional and digital platforms.
With support from the Meta Journalism Project, the IFCN will award grants to subject matter experts selected to become mentors in the program as well as IFCN-certified signatories, news organizations and other partners seeking to improve skills, adopt innovative strategies and advance their fact-checking efforts.
“We constantly hear feedback from our signatories that learning from other fact-checking organizations is one of the advantages of being a part of the IFCN,” said IFCN director Baybars Örsek. “Thanks to this support from Meta, this global mentorship program will be a key benefit of the IFCN that sets the framework for the exchange of fact-checking best practices worldwide.”
The application period for mentors runs from Nov. 2, 2021, to Dec. 3, 2021. A total of $300,000 is available for up to six selected mentors to develop a robust, six-month curriculum for up to five mentees, with $150,000 available for selected mentees. Applicants must define their area of expertise and intended audience for impact. Mentorship topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Detecting misinformation on social media
- Communicating fact checks with innovative formats
- Industry collaboration
- Media literacy
- Training and operations
- Health and science misinformation
Click here to access the application for mentors.
“Since launching our fact-checking program in 2016, we’ve heard feedback from our partners that learning from one another is vital to the continued innovation and strength of the industry. We are thrilled to be launching a more formalized way to build new relationships and skills through the Global Fact-Checking Mentorship Program,” said Caroline Alexander, Program Manager, News Integrity at Meta.
Selected mentors will be announced in January 2022. The application for mentees will also open in January 2022, and IFCN’s selected mentee organizations will be announced in February 2022. Mentee applicants must be participants of Meta’s fact-checking program. The mentorship program officially begins in February 2022 and ends May 2022.
For more information, visit poynter.org/ifcn.
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st-century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, and at newsrooms, conferences and organizations around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, offers the world’s largest online journalism curriculum, with hundreds of interactive courses and tens of thousands of registered international users. The Institute’s website produces 24-hour coverage about media, ethics, technology and the business of news. Poynter is the home of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact, the International Fact-Checking Network and MediaWise, a digital information literacy project for young people, first-time voters and senior citizens. The world’s top journalists and media innovators rely on Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcasters. This work builds public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and discourse that serves democracy and the public good. Learn more at poynter.org.
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