The International Fact-Checking Network at the Poynter Institute has awarded $750,000 to 25 fact-checking organizations through SUSTAIN, a Global Fact Check Fund program that helps fact-checkers keep publishing while they build more stable sources of support.
Each organization receives $30,000. The grants come as fact-checkers face shrinking institutional funding, fewer platform partnerships and rising demand for fact-checking.
The recipients include organizations in Ukraine, Venezuela, Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where reliable information is scarce and contested. The recipients also included organizations in countries where fact-checking has an important role in developed media environments, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Spain, France and the United Kingdom.
The awards arrive as fact-checkers worldwide face shrinking institutional funding, fewer platform partnerships and rising demand for fact-checking. That pressure is not limited to smaller or newer organizations. Established outlets across every region are navigating the same contracting landscape.
“These organizations all face challenges, yet they are publishing regularly, building training programs, developing AI tools and creating new revenue streams. They’re finding ways to serve audiences when high-quality information is increasingly hard to find,” said IFCN director Angie Drobnic Holan. “SUSTAIN grants give them the runway to execute plans for future growth without sacrificing their core work in the meantime.”
SUSTAIN grants are unrestricted, a departure from earlier Global Fact Check Fund programs that paid for specific projects. Recipients can use the money for fundraising, new revenue streams or day-to-day publishing, and reporting requirements are lighter than in past rounds.
IFCN received 50 eligible applications for this third SUSTAIN round and, with the assistance of multiple reviewers, selected 25 organizations. Reviewers scored applications on four criteria: statement of need, sustainability planning, timeline and budget, and likelihood of success. The next round will be awarded in early 2027. Verified signatories of the IFCN Code of Principles are eligible to apply.
SUSTAIN 2026 recipients by region:
Africa
- Dubawa (Nigeria)
- Eleza Fact (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Factspace West Africa (Ghana)
Asia-Pacific
- Mongolian Fact-Checking Center (Mongolia)
- Rappler (Philippines)
South Asia
- Boom (India)
- Factly (India)
- First Check (India)
- Newschecker (India)
Europe
- Faktograf (Croatia)
- FactReview (Greece)
- FakeNews Tragač (Serbia)
- Full Fact (United Kingdom)
- Maldita (Spain)
- Pagella Politica / Facta (Italy)
- Pravda (Poland)
- Science Feedback (France)
- Vox Ukraine (Ukraine)
- Zašto Ne (Bosnia)
Latin America
- Cazadores de Fake News (Venezuela)
- Lupa (Brazil)
- La Silla Vacía (Colombia)
Middle East and North Africa
- Verify Syria (Syria)
North America
- Factchequeado (United States)
- Canadian Press (Canada)
This is an encouraging initiative from the International Fact-Checking Network. Financial sustainability is one of the biggest challenges facing fact-checking organizations today, especially as misinformation and fake news continue to spread rapidly across digital platforms. Supporting independent verification teams with operational funding helps ensure that accurate, trustworthy information remains accessible to the public. At Oigetit, we strongly believe collaboration, transparency, and long-term sustainability are essential in the fight against misinformation. It’s great to see IFCN investing in organizations that protect information integrity worldwide.